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para-cresol

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Also known as 4-Cresol, p-Cresylic acid, 1-Hydroxy-4-methylbenzene, 4-Hydroxytoluene, 4-Methyl phenol, 4-methylphenol, p-methylphenol

'''para-Cresol, also 4-methylphenol', is an organic compound with the formula CH3C6H4(OH). It is a colourless solid that is widely used intermediate in the production of other chemicals. It is a derivative of phenol and is an isomer of o-cresol and m''-cresol.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
cresols
Has part
hydrogen
Mass
108.058
Show 15 more facts
density
1.04
chemical formula
C₇H₈O
lower flammable limit
1.1
ionization energy
8.13
NIOSH Pocket Guide ID
0156
immediately dangerous to life or health
1107.5
melting point
34.7
boiling point
201.98
vapor pressure
0.11
flash point
187
solubility
2
time-weighted average exposure limit
10
canonical SMILES
CC1=CC=C(C=C1)O
Commons category
P-Cresol
Sources (4)

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Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Production
  • Applications
  • Natural occurrences
  • In humans
  • In other species
  • References

'''para-Cresol, also 4-methylphenol', is an organic compound with the formula CH3C6H4(OH). It is a colourless solid that is widely used intermediate in the production of other chemicals. It is a derivative of phenol and is an isomer of o-cresol and m-cresol.

==Production== Together with many other compounds, p-cresol is conventionally extracted from coal tar, the volatilized materials obtained in the roasting of coal to produce coke. This residue contains a few percent by weight of phenol and cresols. Industrially, p-cresol is currently prepared mainly by a two-step route beginning with the sulfonation of toluene: CH3C6H5 + H2SO4 → CH3C6H4SO3H + H2O Basic hydrolysis of the sulfonate salt gives the sodium salt of the cresol: CH3C6H4SO3H + 2 NaOH → CH3C6H4OH + Na2SO3 + H2O Other methods for the production of p-cresol include chlorination of toluene followed by hydrolysis. In the cymene-cresol process, toluene is alkylated with propene to give p-cymene, which can be oxidatively dealkylated in a manner similar to the cumene process.

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