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acetolactone

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Also known as α-acetolactone

In organic chemistry, αlactone refers to a functional group, the smallest possible lactone. It is a family of unstable, three-membered heterocycles, containing an epoxide ring fused with a carbonyl group.

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In organic chemistry, αlactone refers to a functional group, the smallest possible lactone. It is a family of unstable, three-membered heterocycles, containing an epoxide ring fused with a carbonyl group.

The parent, acetolactone (α-acetolactone), is an organic compound with formula , and has not been isolated in bulk. The compound was first described in 1997 as a transient species in mass spectrometry experiments.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “acetolactone” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.