Decanal is an 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 the chemical formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 C₉H₁₉CHO. It is the simplest ten-carbon aldehyde

Aldehyde

An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....

. Decanal occurs naturally and is used in fragrances and flavoring. Decanal occurs in nature and is an important component in citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

 along with octanal

Octanal

Octanal is an aldehyde with the chemical formula C8H16O. It occurs naturally as a colorless or lightly yellow tinged liquid with a fruit-like odor. It is a fairly combustible liquid. It is used commercially as a component in perfumes and in flavor production for the food industry.Octanal can also...

, citral

Citral

Citral, or 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal or lemonal, is either of, or a mixture of, a pair of terpenoids with the molecular formula C10H16O. The two compounds are double bond isomers. The E-isomer is known as geranial or citral A...

, and sinensal. Decanal is also an important component of buckwheat

Buckwheat

Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...

odour.

Decanal can be prepared by oxidation of the related alcohol decanol.