A chemical group consisting of two carbon atoms bonded to an oxygen, also known as the acetyl group, commonly found in organic compounds.
From ethane + -oyl (carbonyl group suffix). The ethanoyl or acetyl group (CH3CO-) is one of the most important functional groups in chemistry, derived from acetic acid.
The ethanoyl group is the key chemical that makes aspirin work—it attaches to pain-signaling proteins in your body, and without understanding this group's chemistry, doctors couldn't have created modern painkillers.
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