Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. It is the basis of all terrestrial life and they are all very different, in their chemical and physical properties and their structures. With a multitude of carbon compounds existing in this world, it was necessary to find a way to organize them all according to their characteristics. Some of the many functional groups include alcohol, aldehydes, amines, esters, ethers and ketones. The substance that seems most interesting is benzoin, characterized by two of the functional groups mentioned. It is involved in many different processes and is widely used in food, primarily in baked goods. Benzoin is seen as off-white crystals, with a slight camphor-like odor. A camphor smells like vanilla with a slight medicinal smell. The official hydrocarbon chemical name of the substance is 2-Hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethanone. Many other names for benzoin include 2-hydroxy-2 – phenyl acetophenone benzoylphenyl carbinol and alpha-hydroxylbenzyl phenyl ketone. The structure of benzoin is shown in Figure 1. The structure includes two benzene rings with multiple bonds, including oxygen and hydrogen. The molecular formula is C14H12O2. This chemical is found in two functional groups, the alcohol group and the ketone group. This chemical, benzoin, is used in different ways. One of the main purposes of this compound is to be used as an intermediate for the synthesis of an organic compound. The second major purpose of Benzoin is to be a photopolymerization catalyst. In photopolymerization, the chemical is used as a photoinitiator. Photoinitiators are commonly used because they can be driven at low temperatures and easily turned off by simply removing the light source. Photo-in...... middle of paper ...... Portal site: http://www.organic-chemistry.org/namedreactions/ benzoin-condensation.shtm Benzoin. (nd). Retrieved January 3, 2014, from Chemical Land 21 website: http://www.chemicalland21.com/specialtychem/finechem/BENZOIN.htm Material Safety Data Sheet: MSDS for benzoin. (May 21, 2013). Accessed January 3, 2014, from Science Lab website: http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9923053 National Center for Biotechnology Information and US National Library of Medicine. (nd). Benzoin. Retrieved January 3, 2014, from PubChem Compound website: http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?cid=8400Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. (2001, January 21). Monograph on Benzoin. Retrieved January 5, 2014, from the FAO Institutional Document Repository website: http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ac776e/ac776e00.htm