Butylbenzene

Chemical properties

colourless liquid

Physical properties

Clear, colorless, liquid with a faint petroleum or gasoline-like odor similar to that of npropylbenzene. Nagata and Takeuchi (1990) reported an odor threshold concentration 8.5 ppb_v.

The Uses of Butylbenzene

Butylbenzene is used in the preparation of butyl-silica hybrid monolithic column.

The Uses of Butylbenzene

n-Butylbenzene is an organic solvent that has been used to induce cell death in vitro and for bioconversion.

The Uses of Butylbenzene

Butylbenzene undergoes oxidation to afford butyrophenone. It is used to prepare N-arylazoles via oxidant-free and selective C(sp²)-H amination reaction. It can be used in the synthesis of alkylated pentacene and ladder-type oligo(p-phenylene)s to improve solubility in common organic solvents.

What are the applications of Application

Butylbenzene is an organic solvent for cell death in vitro induction and for bioconversion

Definition

ChEBI: An alkylbenzene that is benzene substituted by a butyl group at position 1.

Synthesis Reference(s)

The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 50, p. 1749, 1985 DOI: 10.1021/jo00210a035
Tetrahedron Letters, 21, p. 87, 1980 DOI: 10.1016/S0040-4039(00)93631-1

General Description

A colorless liquid. Less dense than water and insoluble in water. Flash point between 75 - 140°F. Used to make plastics and as a solvent.

Air & Water Reactions

Highly flammable. Insoluble in water.

Reactivity Profile

Vigorous reactions, sometimes amounting to explosions, can result from the contact between aromatic hydrocarbons, such as BUTYL BENZENE, and strong oxidizing agents. They can react exothermically with bases and with diazo compounds. Substitution at the benzene nucleus occurs by halogenation (acid catalyst), nitration, sulfonation, and the Friedel-Crafts reaction.

Hazard

Toxic by ingestion.

Health Hazard

Inhalation or contact with material may irritate or burn skin and eyes. Fire may produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases. Vapors may cause dizziness or suffocation. Runoff from fire control or dilution water may cause pollution.

Safety Profile

Mildly toxic by ingestion. Flammable when exposed to heat or flame. To fight fire, use alcohol foam, CO2, dry chemical. Incompatible with oxidizing materials. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid and irritating fumes.

Source

No MCLGs or MCLs have been proposed (U.S. EPA, 1996).
Evaporation and/or dissolution of gasoline, naphtha, coal tar, and asphalt. Identified as one of 140 volatile constituents in used soybean oils collected from a processing plant that fried various beef, chicken, and veal products (Takeoka et al., 1996).

Purification Methods

Distil butylbenzene from sodium. Wash it with small portions of conc H2SO4 until the acid is no longer coloured, then with water and aqueous Na2CO3. Dry it ( MgSO4), and distil it twice from Na, collecting the middle fraction [Vogel J Chem Soc 607 1948]. [Beilstein 5 IV 1033.]