tert-Butylbenzene

Chemical properties

colourless liquid with an aromatic odour

The Uses of tert-Butylbenzene

tert-Butylbenzene is an useful intermediate for manufacturing agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. tert-Butyl Toluene is used as a solvent for resins.

The Uses of tert-Butylbenzene

Organic synthesis, polymerization solvent, polymer linking agent.

Synthesis Reference(s)

The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 33, p. 923, 1968 DOI: 10.1021/jo01266a122
Tetrahedron Letters, 25, p. 4851, 1984 DOI: 10.1016/S0040-4039(01)91241-9

Hazard

Toxic by ingestion.

Safety Profile

Mildly toxic by ingestion. Flammable liquid when exposed to heat or flame. To fight fire, use foam, CO2, dry chemical, water spray, fog, mist. Incompatible with oxidizing materials. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and fumes

Environmental Fate

Photolytic. At 25 °C, a rate constant of 4.58 x 10^-12 cm³/molecule?sec was reported for the gasphase reaction of tert-butylbenzene with OH radicals (Ohta and Ohyama, 1985).
Chemical/Physical. tert-Butylbenzene will not hydrolyze because it has no hydrolyzable functional group (Kollig, 1995).

Purification Methods

Wash it with cold conc H2SO4 until a fresh portion of acid is no longer coloured, then with 10% aqueous NaOH (care-effervescence), followed by distilled water until neutral. Dry it (CaSO4), and distil it in a glass helices-packed column, taking the middle fraction. [Beilstein 5 IV 1045.]