PhMe = toluene
PhH = benzene
HOAc = acetic acid
Ac2O = acetic anhydride
EtOAc = ethyl acetate
Bn = PhCH2 = C6H5CH2 = benzyl (a common protecting group)
BnCl = PhMeCl = C6H5CH2Cl = benzyl chloride
Pr = propyl (sometimes)
iPr = isopropyl
Now it gets even more fun:
PhAc = acetophenone
PhEtNH2 = C6H5.CH2.CH2.NH2 = phenethylamine (see where the name came from?)
You can probably imagine how these funny abbreviations make reading posts easier. Those H's get annoying after awhile.
So can you guess what:
MeCN is?
How about EtOH? (we drink it...) Or the oh-so-desired EtNO2?
What movie do they use Et2O in? (pick one) What was it used for?
When you have some BnCN aka PhCH2CN and EtOAc, and NaOEt, what can you make? If you have some HCOOH and MeNH2, then what?
Isn't this fun? And so much hipper than merely spelling out what you mean to say! Practice a bit and you'll be slinging chemspeak jargon like a pro in no time!
Hey, bees, any other fun abbreviations I forgot? We should make a hivespeak dictionary, and a companion "tweakspeak" volume, as well.