Ethyl group

Ethyl is used in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's nomenclature of organic chemistry for a saturated two-carbon moiety in a molecule, while the prefix "eth-" is used to indicate the presence of two carbon atoms in the molecule.

[page needed] [1] Many ethyl-containing compounds are generated by electrophilic ethylation, i.e. treatment of nucleophiles with sources of Et+.

For good nucleophiles, less electrophilic reagents are employed, such as ethyl halides.

The name of the group is derived from the Aether, the first-born Greek elemental god of air (and at that time a general term for any highly volatile compound) and "hyle", referring to "stuff".

The name "ethyl" was coined in 1835 by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius.

Ethyl group (highlighted blue ) as part of a molecule, as the ethyl radical , and in the compounds ethanol , bromoethane , ethyl acetate , and ethyl methyl ether .