What is "thiophenol"

Thiophenol \Thi`o*phe"nol\, n. [Thio- + phenol.] (Chem.) A colorless mobile liquid, C6H5.SH, of an offensive odor, and analogous to phenol; -- called also phenyl sulphydrate.

n. (context organic compound English) Any aromatic thiol equivalent to a phenol

Thiophenol is an organosulfur compound with the formula CHSH, sometimes abbreviated as PhSH. This foul-smelling colourless liquid is the simplest aromatic thiol. The chemical structures of thiophenols are analogous to phenols except the oxygen atom in the hydroxyl group (-OH) bonded to the aromatic ring is replaced by a sulfur atom. The prefix thio- implies a sulfur-containing compound and when used before a root word name for a compound which would normally contain an oxygen atom, in the case of 'thiol' that the alcohol oxygen atom is replaced by a sulfur atom.

Thiophenols also describes a class of compounds formally derived from thiophenol itself. All have a sulfhydryl group (-SH) covalently bonded to an aromatic ring. The organosulfur ligand in the medicine thiomersal is a thiophenol.