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terephthalic acid

Structure via PubChem · Public domain (PubChem)

EntityQ408984· pop 37· linked from 132 articles

terephthalic acid

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Also known as TPA, p-benzenedicarboxylic acid, para-benzenedicarboxylic acid, P-Phthelic acid, benzene-p-dicarboxylic acid, 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, p-phthalic acid

chemical compound

Chemical data

Formula
C8H6O4
Molecular weight
166.13 g/mol
IUPAC name
4-oxoniocarbonylbenzoate
SMILES
C1=CC(=CC=C1C(=O)[OH2+])C(=O)[O-]
InChIKey
KKEYFWRCBNTPAC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP
2.6
Polar surface area
58.2 Ų
H-bond donors
1
H-bond acceptors
3
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

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Encyclopedic overview

Terephthalic acid is an organic compound with the chemical structure C6H4(CO2H)2 and chemical formula C8H6O4. This white solid is a commodity chemical, used principally as a precursor to the polyester PET, used to make clothing and plastic bottles. Several million tons are produced annually. The common name is derived from the turpentine-producing tree Pistacia terebinthus and phthalic acid.

Terephthalic acid is also used in the production of PBT plastic (polybutylene terephthalate).

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