Benzoxazole is an aromatic organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

 with a molecular formula C₇H₅NO, a benzene

Benzene

Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....

-fused oxazole

Oxazole

Oxazole is the parent compound for a vast class of heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds. These are azoles with an oxygen and a nitrogen separated by one carbon. Oxazoles are aromatic compounds but less so than the thiazoles...

 ring structure, and an odor similar to pyridine

Pyridine

Pyridine is a basic heterocyclic organic compound with the chemical formula C5H5N. It is structurally related to benzene, with one C-H group replaced by a nitrogen atom...

. Benzoxazole is used primarily in industry and research, and has no household use.

Being a heterocyclic compound, benzoxazole finds use in research as a starting material for the synthesis of larger, usually bioactive structures. It is found within the chemical structures of pharmaceutical drugs such as flunoxaprofen

Flunoxaprofen

Flunoxaprofen, also known as Priaxim, is a chiral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It is closely related to Naproxen, which is also an NSAID. Flunoxaprofen has been shown to significantly improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis...

.

Its aromaticity

Aromaticity

In organic chemistry, Aromaticity is a chemical property in which a conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibit a stabilization stronger than would be expected by the stabilization of conjugation alone. The earliest use of the term was in an article by August...

 makes it relatively stable, although as a heterocycle, it has reactive sites which allow for functionalization.

See also

• Benzisoxazole
  Benzisoxazole
  Benzisoxazole is an aromatic organic compound with a molecular formula C7H5NO containing a benzene-fused isoxazole ring structure. Benzisoxazole has no household use. It is used primarily in industry and research....
  
  , an analog with the nitrogen
  Nitrogen
  Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
  
   atom
  Atom
  The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
  
   in position 2.
• Benzimidazole
  Benzimidazole
  Benzimidazole is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound. This bicyclic compound consists of the fusion of benzene and imidazole. The most prominent benzimidazole compound in nature is N-ribosyl-dimethylbenzimidazole, which serves as an axial ligand for cobalt in vitamin B12. Benzimidazole, in...
  
  , an analog with the oxygen
  Oxygen
  Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
  
   replaced by a nitrogen.
• Benzothiazole
  Benzothiazole
  Benzothiazole is an aromatic heterocyclic compound with the chemical formula . It is colorless, slightly viscous liquid. Although the parent compound, benzothiazole is not widely used, many of its derivatives are found in commercial products or in nature...
  
  , an analog with the oxygen replaced by a sulfur.
• Benzopyrrole or indole
  Indole
  Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered nitrogen-containing pyrrole ring. Indole is a popular component of fragrances and the precursor to many pharmaceuticals. Compounds that contain an...
  
  , an analog without the oxygen atom.
• Benzofuran
  Benzofuran
  Benzofuran is the heterocyclic compound consisting of fused benzene and furan rings. This colourless liquid is a component of coal tar. Benzofuran is the "parent" of many related compounds with more complex structures. For example, psoralen is a benzofuran derivative that occurs in several...
  
  , an analog without the nitrogen atom.
• Benzoxazoline, which has one double bond reduced.
• Benzoxazolidinedione, which has both double bonds reduced.
• Benzoxazolidine, which has both double bonds reduced.
• Benzoxazolidinone
• Simple aromatic ring
  Simple aromatic ring
  Simple aromatic rings, also known as simple arenes or simple aromatics, are aromatic organic compounds that consist only of a conjugated planar ring system with delocalized pi electron clouds. Many simple aromatic rings have trivial names. They are usually found as substructures of more complex...
  
  s