Thiol Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

In chemistry, thiols (formerly known as mercaptans) are those compounds which contain the thiol group -SH attached to a carbon atom.

Thiols are similar to alcohols, with the oxygen of the hydroxyl group -OH being replaced by a sulfur atom. (Oxygen and sulfur have similar chemical properties, as they belong to the same periodic table group.) Thiols form thioethers, thioacetals and thioesters, in which the alcohol-derived oxygen atom is replaced by a sulfur atom.

Many thiols are colorless liquids having an odor resembling that of garlic. The odour is strong and repulsive: thiols bind strongly to skin proteins, and are responsible for the intolerable, persistent odour produced by the spraying of skunks. Looking at its binding states for metals, particularly mercury, one can see the reason for the name mercaptan, from the Latin mercurius captans, laying hold of mercury.

When a thiol group is a substituent in an alkane, there are several ways of naming the resulting thiol:

• The suffix -thiol is added to the name of the alkane. Example: CH₃SH would be methanethiol.
• The word mercaptan replaces alcohol in the name of the equivalent alcohol compound. Example: CH₃SH would be methyl mercaptan.

Examples of thiols:

• Methyl mercaptan - CH₃SH
• Ethyl mercaptan - C₂H₅SH
• Coenzyme A
• Lipoamide
• Glutathione
• Cysteine.

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