Enone

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The general structure of an enone
The general structure of an enone
Methyl vinyl ketone, the simplest enone
Methyl vinyl ketone, the simplest enone

An enone is an unsaturated chemical compound or functional group consisting of a conjugated system of an alkene and a ketone. The simplest enone is methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) or CH2=CHCOCH3.

As an example, an enone such as a chalcone can be synthesized in a Knoevenagel condensation. In the Meyer-Schuster rearrangement the starting compound is a propargyl alcohol.

An enone is a reactant in the Nazarov cyclization reaction and in the Rauhut-Currier reaction (dimerization).

[edit] Related compounds

Enone is not to be confused with Ketene (R2C=C=O). An enamine is a cousin of an enone, with the carbonyl replaced by an amine group. An enal is the corresponding α,β-unsaturated aldehyde