4- Mercapto-4-methyl-2-pentenone

Recent reaction flavor work in our labs has lead to a recently GRAS listed material, natural 4-Mercapto-4-methyl-2-pentenone (FEMA 3997), from the reaction of natural Hydrogen Sulfide and natural 4-Methyl-3-penten-2-one (equation 12). While the flavor descriptors in the literature vary from catty, buchu, black currant, broom tree to cassis, we have found the material to have a meaty, Chinese pork type of flavor when used in savory applications. 

Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Beijing, Peop. Rep. China. J. Photopolym. Sci. Technol. (1994), 7 (1), 187-92. Kinetics of Me methacrylate (MMA) photopolymn. was studied using 2,5-bis(4 -diethylaminobenzylidene)cyclopentanone (DEAP) and 2,5-bis(4 -dimethylaminobenzylidene)cyclo-pentenone (DMAP) as visible bght sensitizers and 2-chlorohexaarylbiimidazole (o-Cl-HABI) as polymn. initiator. The photopolymn. study were carried out in toluene soln. at 30°C. The polymn. rate was proportional to the concn. with exponent of 0.85, —0.28, 0.30,1.0 for DEAP, o-Cl-HABI, 3-mercapto-4-methyl-4H-l,2,4-triazole additive, MMA, resp. The photopolymer materials can record stable hologram with sensitivity of 30-300 mJ/cm and resoln. of 4000 1/mm. 

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