1,2-Diphenylethane

Chemical properties

white to light yellow crystal powder. soluble in chloroform, ether, carbon disulfide and amyl acetate, soluble in alcohol, almost insoluble in water. It reacts with chromium trioxide or permanganic acid to generate benzoic acid.

The Uses of 1,2-Diphenylethane

1,2-Diphenylethane is used as solvent for nitro fibre and in synthesis of other organic chemical products.

Definition

ChEBI: 1,2-dihydrostilbene is a diphenylethane that is the 1,2-dihydro derivative of stilbene.

Preparation

1,2-Diphenylethane is synthesized by the action of benzyl chloride with sodium metal. Or from the reaction of benzyl chloride in the presence of copper, or from the hydrogenation of benzoin in the presence of nickel.

Synthesis Reference(s)

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 36, p. 1529, 1988 DOI: 10.1248/cpb.36.1529
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 81, p. 1243, 1959 DOI: 10.1021/ja01514a057

Purification Methods

Crystallise bibenzyl from hexane, MeOH, or 95% EtOH. It has also been sublimed under vacuum, and further purified by percolation through columns of silica gel and activated alumina. [Beilstein 5 IV 1868.]