mercaptan

See also: Mercaptan

English

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Borrowed from German Mercaptan, from Danish mercaptan; coined by organic chemist William Christopher Zeise in 1832 from mer(curius) (“mercury”) +‎ captan(s) (“capturing”), because the thiolate group bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.

mercaptan (plural mercaptans)

(chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R₁.S.R₂ ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R₂ is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.
- 2022 April 25, AlfredCamera, “Spotting Gas Leak Symptoms and Staying Safe”, in Home Security Expert‎^[1]:
  Though this might come as a surprise, gas actually has no odor; gas companies are obligated to odorize it to make it safer for use in homes.
  
  Mercaptan, a harmless chemical, is added to create the distinct smell in both natural gas (methane) and liquid petroleum gas (propane, butane).

sulphuric compound

Ultimately from Danish mercaptan, which see.

mercaptan m (plural mercaptans)

mercaptan m (plural mercaptani)

	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
	singular		plural
nominative-accusative	mercaptan	mercaptanul	mercaptani	mercaptanii
genitive-dative	mercaptan	mercaptanului	mercaptani	mercaptanilor
vocative	mercaptanule		mercaptanilor