Acetoxy group

In organic chemistry, the acetoxy group (abbr.

AcO or OAc; IUPAC name: acetyloxy[1]), is a functional group with the formula −OCOCH3 and the structure −O−C(=O)−CH3.

As the -oxy suffix implies, it differs from the acetyl group (−C(=O)−CH3) by the presence of an additional oxygen atom.

The name acetoxy is the short form of acetyl-oxy.

There are several options of introducing an acetoxy functionality in a molecule from an alcohol (in effect protecting the alcohol by acetylation): An alcohol is not a particularly strong nucleophile and, when present, more powerful nucleophiles like amines will react with the above-mentioned reagents in preference to the alcohol.