Acetophenone is the simplest aromatic ketone; it is liquid, colourless and viscous. As a natural flavour or aroma it is present in many food products like apple, apricot and banana. Acetophenone is the simplest aromatic ketone; it is liquid, colourless and viscous. As a natural flavour or aroma it is present in many food products like apple, apricot and banana.
It is used as a precursor for preparing flavours that resemble almond, cherry, honeysuckle, jasmine or strawberry.
It is also used for preparation resins and as an additive in chewing gum and cigarettes.
At the end of the 19th century it was sold as hypnotic and anticonvulsant under the name Hypnone™. Its sedative effects were considered superior to paraldehyde and chloral hydrate.
It is metabolised yielding benzoic acid, carbonic acid and acetone.
In the model you can also appreciate vibration suffered by atoms continuously in any molecule, captured in the vibration modes of bonds in acetophenone.