Everything about Benzyl Alcohol totally explained
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Benzyl alcohol is an
organic compound with the formula C
6H
5CH
2OH. The
benzyl group is commonly abbreviated "Bn", thus BnOH, for benzyl alcohol. Benzyl alcohol is a colorless liquid with a mild pleasant aromatic odor. It is a natural constituent of a variety of
essential oils including
jasmine,
hyacinth, and
ylang-ylang. Benzyl alcohol is also a useful solvent due to its polarity, low toxicity, and low vapor pressure.
Benzyl alcohol is partially soluble in
water (4 g/100 mL) and completely miscible in
alcohols and
ether. It is prepared by the
hydrolysis of
benzyl chloride using
sodium hydroxide:
» C
6H
5CH
2Cl +
NaOH → C
6H
5CH
2OH +
NaCl
It can also be prepared via a
Grignard reaction by reacting
phenylmagnesium bromide (C
6H
5MgBr) with
formaldehyde, followed by acidification. Like most alcohols, it reacts with
carboxylic acids to form
esters.
Applications
Benzyl alcohol is used as a general
solvent for
inks,
paints,
lacquers, and
epoxy resin coatings. It is also a precursor to a variety of esters, used in the
soap,
perfume, and
flavor industries, as well as for
pharmaceuticals. It exhibits
bacteriostatic and
antipruritic properties. It is also used as a photographic developer.
Illustrative organic synthetic uses
In organic synthesis, benzyl esters are popular
protecting groups because they can be removed by mild
hydrogenolysis.
BnOH reacts with
acrylonitrile to give
N-benzylacrylamide. This is an example of a
Ritter reaction:
» C
6H
5CH
2OH + NCCHCH
2 → C
6H
5CH
2N(H)C(O)CHCH
2
Nanotechnological uses
Benzyl alcohol has been used as a dielectric solvent for the
dielectrophoretic reconfiguration of nanowires.
Health & safety
Benzyl alcohol is used as a bacteriostatic preservative in parenteral (IV) medications. Benzyl alcohol is also known for its toxic effects including respiratory failure, vasodilation, hypotension, convulsions, and paralysis. Sixteen Neonatal deaths have been associated with the use of benzyl alcohol as a preservative in saline flush solutions. Preservative free solutions are now being used for the infant population.
Benzyl alcohol should be avoided by people with perfume allergy.
Other uses
Benzyl alcohol remarkably has nearly the same
refraction index of
quartz. If a clear quartz object is immersed in benzyl alcohol therefore it becomes almost invisible. This has been used as a method to non-destructively recognize if an object is made of true quartz or not (see
Crystal skulls).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Benzyl Alcohol'.
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