Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone

What Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone smells like

Methyl beta-naphthyl ketone (2-acetonaphthone; Givaudan's Oranger Crystals) is a sweet, powdery orange-blossom material. Givaudan gives orange flower, honey and sweet, and recommends it for neroli and orange-blossom blends; Pell Wall Perfumes lists sweet, floral orange blossom, neroli, powdery and fruity-strawberry; Sigma-Aldrich's broader profile includes berry, grape, coconut and vanilla. Some strawberry descriptions online belong to the naphthyl ethers rather than this ketone.

Leading note

Sweet orange blossom

Supporting facets

Honey, powdery, strawberry

Faint facets

Neroli

Character

Sweet, powdery, warm, soft

• orange blossom
• sweet
• neroli
• strawberry

What makes Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone distinctive

Orange blossom with honey and powder — warmer and fruitier than the naphthyl ethers, without their naphthalene harshness.

How Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone is used

Used in neroli and orange-blossom blends and in sweet, powdery florals.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend); fixative (slow to evaporate; helps a blend last and holds lighter notes).

How Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone differs from similar materials

Yara Yara

Yara yara is more intense, acacia-like and harsher; the ketone is sweeter, more honeyed and powdery, with strawberry.

Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Covered by an IFRA Standard; check the limit for your product category. It is a solid and must be dissolved.

Identity and classification

Type

Aroma chemical

Origin

Synthetic

Odour family

Floral / Fruity

Note position

Heart to base note

Physical form at room temperature

Solid

Also known as

2-Acetylnaphthalene, 2-Acetonaphthone, Oranger crystals

CAS number

93-08-3

Molecular formula

C12H10O

Molecular weight

170.21 g/mol

IUPAC name

1-naphthalen-2-ylethanone

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 7122, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone:

• "Methyl beta-naphthyl ketone" — Restriction, 49th Amendment, published 2020-01

Limits differ by product category and are set out in the Standard itself; this page does not reproduce them. The list above reflects the library as read on 19 October 2026.

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (1,959 reports): H411 toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects (26.3% of reports); H315 causes skin irritation (11.7% of reports); H302 harmful if swallowed (11.3% of reports). 1,321 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

• Yara Yara

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — orange blossom, sweet, grape, acacia

• Nerolin Bromelia

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — orange blossom, sweet, fruity, strawberry

• Neroli Oil

  Essential oil · Floral / Citrus — floral, citrus, orange blossom, honeyed

• Methyl Anthranilate

  Aroma chemical · Floral / Fruity — orange blossom, grape, sweet, floral

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 3 published formulas

Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula, 1 accord and 1 base in the Formula & Accord Library.

Community formulas

• Fig Accord

  Community Formula · Accord · listed as “Oranger Crystals”

• Neroli Bigarade Base

  Community Formula · Base · listed as “Oranger Crystals”

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Orange Blossom Chalk

  RUŌOD House Original

Further reading

• White Floral Accords: Jasmine, Tuberose and Orange Blossom

  How jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, gardenia and ylang-ylang accords are built — benzyl acetate, Hedione, indole, methyl anthranilate — and their pitfalls.

• Perfume Materials by Odor Family: A Formulator's Palette Map

  Which materials build each odor family — citrus, floral, woody, amber, musk and more — their usual roles, what to watch for, and links to each in depth.

Questions about Methyl beta-Naphthyl Ketone

Sources

• PubChem — compound 7122, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• IFRA — Standards Library, read 19 October 2026.
• The Good Scents Company — methyl beta-naphthyl ketone (with Givaudan and Pell Wall descriptions) — odour database.
• Scentspiracy — Methyl Naphthyl Ketone Beta — distributor's description.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.