Acetal

General shape of acetals.

An acetal is a type of organic compound where two ether functional groups share one carbon atom.[1] A ketal is an acetal that has no hydrogen atoms on the shared carbon.[2]

Acetals are commonly used as protecting groups for carbonyl compounds. A typical example is the reaction of a ketone with ethylene glycol or trimethylene glycol to make a dioxolane or dioxane.[3]

Sources

  1. ↑ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. (the "Gold Book") (2025). Online version: (2006–) "acetals". doi:10.1351/goldbook.A00062.html
  2. ↑ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. (the "Gold Book") (2025). Online version: (2006–) "ketals". doi:10.1351/goldbook.K03376
  3. ↑ "!,3-Dioxanes, 1,3-Dioxolanes". Organic Chemistry Portal. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
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