Product Code Database
Pentyl is a five-carbon alkyl group or substituent with chemical formula . It is the substituent form of the alkane pentane.
In older literature, the common non-systematic name amyl was often used for the pentyl group. Conversely, the name pentyl was used for several five-carbon branched alkyl groups, distinguished by various prefixes. The nomenclature has now reversed, with "amyl" being more often used to refer to the terminally branched group also called isopentyl, as in amobarbital.
A cyclopentyl group is a ring with the formula .
The name is also used for the pentyl radical, a pentyl group as an isolated molecule. This free radical is only observed in extreme conditions. Its formula is often written "•" or "• " to indicate that it has one unsatisfied covalent bond. Radicals like pentyl are reactive, they react with neighboring atoms or molecules (like oxygen, water, etc.)
| n-pentyl, amyl | −− | pentyl | ||
| tert-pentyl | −−C− | No longer recommended (2025). 9780854041824, The Royal Society of Chemistry. ISBN 9780854041824 | 2-methylbutan-2-yl (aka 1,1-dimethylpropyl) | |
| neopentyl | C−− | No longer recommended | 2,2-dimethylpropyl | |
| isopentyl, amyl, isoamyl | CH−− | No longer recommended | 3-methylbutyl | |
| sec-pentyl | −−(−)CH− | pentan-2-yl (2025). 9780854041824, The Royal Society of Chemistry. ISBN 9780854041824 (or (1-methylbutyl)) | ||
| 3-pentyl | CH− | pentan-3-yl (also known as 1-ethylpropyl) | ||
| sec-isopentyl | −CH− | 3-methylbutan-2-yl (or 1,2-dimethylpropyl) | ||
| active pentyl | −−(−)CH−− | 2-methylbutyl |
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