Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Phenyl -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

The structure of the phenyl group

In organic chemistry, the phenyl group or phenyl ring (often abbreviated as -Ph) is the functional group with the formula

-C₆H₅

where the six carbon atoms are arranged in a cyclic ring structure. This hydrophobic, highly stable and aromatic hydrocarbon unit can be found in many organic compounds. It can be thought of as being derived from benzene (C₆H₆). In fact, in chemical literature benzene itself is sometimes denoted as Ph. One of the simplest phenyl containing compounds is phenol, C₆H₅OH. The resonance stability of phenol makes it a stronger acid than that of aliphatic alcohols such as ethanol (pK_a = 10 vs. 16-18).

Presence of a phenyl group typically results in an ¹H-NMR shift around 7.7ppm.

Phenyl groups can also be found in polymers such as polystyrene.

The phenyl group belongs to the Aryl group of compounds.

The phenyl group differs from the benzyl functional group in that benzyls have an extra CH₂.

This organic chemistry article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 17 August 2008, at 18:29.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Phenyl".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Phenyl

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.