Penguinone Explained

Penguinone is an organic compound with the molecular formula . Its name comes from the fact that its 2-dimensional molecular structure resembles a penguin.^{[1] [2]}

The suffix "-one" indicates that it is a ketone.^[3] The systematic name of the molecule is 3,4,4,5-tetramethylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone.^{[4] [5]}

Although it is a dienone and thus has the necessary structure for a dienone–phenol rearrangement, the methyl groups in positions 3 and 5 of the ring block the movement of the group at position 4, so even the action of trifluoroacetic acid will not cause transformation to a phenol.^[6]

See also

• List of chemicals with unusual names
• NanoPutian
• Penguin diagram

Notes and References

1. Book: May, Paul. 2008. Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names. Imperial College London. 35. 978-1848162075.
2. Web site: Molecules with Silly or Unusual names. 1 December 2014. 23 October 2014. May. Paul. University of Bristol.
3. Laszlo, Pierre. 2004. Science as Play. American Scientist. 92. 5. 398. 10.1511/2004.5.398. 2014-12-01. 2016-10-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018082252/http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/science-as-play/3. dead.
4. Web site: Chemical structures beginning with P. about.com. 1 December 2014. 21 December 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091221194818/http://chemistry.about.com/od/factsstructures/ig/Chemical-Structures---P/Penguinone.htm. dead.
5. Book: Parkvall, Mikael. 2006. Limits of Language. Battlebridge. London. 176. 1903292042.
6. Hagenbruch. Bernd. Hünig. Siegfried. Ein Beitrag zur Dienon-Phenol-Umlagerung. de. Chemische Berichte. 1983. 116. 12. 3884– - 3894. 10.1002/cber.19831161212.