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camphor

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camphor

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Also known as 2-bornanone, 2-camphanone, bornan-2-one, laurel camphor, Formosa camphor, Japan camphor, gum camphor, spirit of camphor

Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapur tree (Dryobalanops sp.), a tall timber tree from South East Asia. It also occurs in some other related trees in the laurel family, notably Ocotea usambarensis. Rosemary leaves (Rosmarinus officinalis) contain 0.05 to 0.5% camphor, while camphorweed (Heterotheca) contains some 5%. A major source of camphor in Asia is camphor basil (the parent of African blue

OverviewAI-generated

Camphor is a chemical compound with the formula C₁₀H₁₆O. Its IUPAC name is 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one. The substance has a mass of 152.120115 and a density of 0.99. It exhibits a melting point of 345 and a boiling point of 399. The vapor pressure is 0.2, while the flash point is 150. Flammability limits range from a lower limit of 0.6 to an upper limit of 3.5.

Physical properties include a refractive index of 1.470 and an ionization energy of 8.76. The electric dipole moment measures 2.95. In terms of molecular structure, camphor has zero hydrogen bond donors and one hydrogen bond acceptor. The xlogp value is 2.2, and the topological polar surface area is 17.1. The canonical SMILES notation is CC1(C2CCC1(C(=O)C2)C)C.

Safety data indicates an immediately dangerous to life or health concentration of 200. The time-weighted average exposure limit is 2.

Synthesized by Vinony from 31 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubChem, PubMed, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula
C10H16O
Molecular weight
152.23 g/mol
IUPAC name
1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one
SMILES
CC1(C2CCC1(C(=O)C2)C)C
InChIKey
DSSYKIVIOFKYAU-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP
2.2
Polar surface area
17.1 Ų
H-bond donors
0
H-bond acceptors
1
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

Research

5,171 papers

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Wikidata facts

Has part
hydrogen
Mass
152.120115
Show 18 more facts
described by source
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
chemical formula
C₁₀H₁₆O
Commons category
Camphor
NIOSH Pocket Guide ID
0096
density
0.99
immediately dangerous to life or health
200
melting point
180
boiling point
207
vapor pressure
0.2
flash point
150
lower flammable limit
0.6
upper flammable limit
3.5
ionization energy
8.76
time-weighted average exposure limit
2
canonical SMILES
CC1(C2CCC1(C(=O)C2)C)C
refractive index
1.470
electric dipole moment
2.95
found in taxon
Etlingera elatior
Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Encyclopedic overview

21 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Production
  • Natural camphor
  • Synthetic camphor
  • Reactions
  • Biochemistry
  • Biosynthesis
  • Uses
  • Alternative medicine and scent
  • Topical medication
  • Respiratory aerosol
  • Other niche uses
  • Pest deterrent and preservative
  • Perfume
  • Culinary uses
  • Religious rites
  • Toxicity
  • History of synthetic camphor
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapur tree (Dryobalanops sp.), a tall timber tree from South East Asia. It also occurs in some other related trees in the laurel family, notably Ocotea usambarensis. Rosemary leaves (Rosmarinus officinalis) contain 0.05 to 0.5% camphor, while camphorweed (Heterotheca) contains some 5%. A major source of camphor in Asia is camphor basil (the parent of African blue basil). Camphor can also be synthetically produced from oil of turpentine.

The compound is chiral, existing in two possible enantiomers as shown in the structural diagrams. The structure on the left is the typical naturally occurring (+)-camphor ((1R,4R)-bornan-2-one), while its mirror image shown on the right is the (−)-camphor ((1S,4S)-bornan-2-one), which is very rare in nature. Camphor has few uses but is of historic significance as a compound that is readily purified from natural sources.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “camphor” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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