Toluene

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Toluene

General
Systematic name	toluene
Other names	methylbenzene phenylmethane toluol
Molecular formula	C₇H₈
SMILES	Cc1ccccc1
Molar mass	92.14 g/mol
Appearance	Clear, colourless liquid
CAS number	[108-88-3]
Properties
Density and phase	0.8669 g/cm³, liquid
Solubility in water	0.053 g/100 mL (20-25°C)
In ethanol, acetone, hexane, dichloromethane	Fully miscible
Melting point	−93 °C (180 K)/(-135.4°F)
Boiling point	110.6°C (383.8 K)/ 231.08°F
Critical temperature	320 °C (593 K)/ 608°F
Viscosity	0.590 cP at 20°C/ 68°F
Dipole moment	0.36 D
Hazards
MSDS	External MSDS
Main hazards	highly flammable
NFPA 704	4 2 0
Flash point	4 °C/ 39.2 °F
R-phrases	R11, R20
S-phrases	S16, S25, S29, S33
RTECS number	XS5250000
Supplementary data page
Structure & properties	n, ε_r, etc.
Thermodynamic data	Phase behaviour Solid, liquid, gas
Spectral data	UV, IR, NMR, MS
Related compounds
Related aromatic hydrocarbons	benzene xylene naphthalene
Related compounds	methylcyclohexane
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references

Toluene, also known as methylbenzene or phenylmethane is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners, redolent of the sweet smell of the related compound benzene. It is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is widely used as an industrial feedstock and as a solvent.

1 History
2 Chemical properties
3 Preparation
4 Uses
5 Toxicology and metabolism
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

The name toluene was derived from the older name toluol that refers to tolu balsam, an aromatic extract from the tropical American tree Myroxylon balsamum, from which it was first isolated. It was originally named by Jöns Jakob Berzelius.

[edit] Chemical properties

Toluene reacts as a normal aromatic hydrocarbon towards electrophilic aromatic substitution.^[1]^[2]^[3] The methyl group makes it around 25 times more reactive than benzene in such reactions. It undergoes smooth sulfonation to give p-toluenesulfonic acid, and chlorination by Cl₂ in the presence of FeCl₃ to give ortho and para isomers of chlorotoluene. It undergoes nitration to give ortho and para nitrotoluene isomers, but if heated it can give dinitrotoluene and ultimately the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT).

With other reagents the methyl side chain in toluene may react, undergoing oxidation. Reaction with potassium permanganate leads to benzoic acid, whereas reaction with chromyl chloride leads to benzaldehyde (Étard reaction). Halogenation can be performed under free radical conditions. For example, N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) heated with toluene in the presence of AIBN leads to benzyl bromide.

Catalytic hydrogenation of toluene to methylcyclohexane requires a high pressure of hydrogen to go to completion, because of the stability of the aromatic system.

[edit] Preparation

Toluene occurs naturally at low levels in crude oil and is usually produced in the processes of making gasoline via a catalytic reformer, in an ethylene cracker or making coke from coal. Final separation (either via distillation or solvent extraction) takes place in a BTX plant.

[edit] Uses

Toluene is a common solvent, able to dissolve: paints, paint thinners, many chemical reactants, rubber, printing ink, adhesives (glues), lacquers, leather tanners, and disinfectants. It can also be used as a fullerene indicator, and is a raw material for toluene diisocyanate (used in the manufacture of polyurethane foam), phenol and TNT. Toluene can be used as an octane booster in gasoline fuels used in internal combustion engines. Toluene at 84% by volume, fueled all the turbo Formula 1 teams in the 1980s. Small 1.5L turbo engines were known to operate at 5 bar (73 psi) boost in qualifying and 4 bars (59 psi) while racing. More than 1500bhp from 1.5L engines was possible. For proper atomization, the Toluene fuel blend was preheated. Industrial uses of toluene include dealkylation to benzene and disproportionation to a mixture of benzene and xylene. Toluene can be used to break open red blood cells in order to extract haemoglobin in biochemistry experiments.

[edit] Toxicology and metabolism

Main article: Toluene (toxicology)

Inhalation of toluene fumes can be intoxicating, but in larger doses nausea-inducing. Chronic or frequent inhalation of toluene over long time periods leads to irreversible brain damage.^{[citation needed]} Toluene may enter the human system not only through vapour inhalation from the liquid evaporation, but also following soil contamination events, where human contact with soil, ingestion of contaminated groundwater or soil vapour off-gassing can occur.

The toxicity of toluene can be explained mostly by its metabolism. As toluene has very low water solubility, it cannot exit the body via the normal routes (urine, feces, or sweat).^{[citation needed]} It must be metabolized in order to be excreted. The methyl group of toluene is more easily oxidized by cytochrome P450 than the benzene ring. Therefore, in the metabolism of toluene, 95% is oxidized to become benzyl alcohol.^[4] The toxic metabolites are created by the remaining 5% that are oxidized to benzaldehyde and cresols.^[5]^[6] Most of the reactive products are detoxified by conjugation to glutathione but the remainder may severely damage cells.^[7]

Toluene is mainly excreted as benzoic acid and hippuric acid, both formed by further metabolic oxidation of benzyl alcohol.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ B. S. Furnell et al., Vogel's Textbook of Practical Organic Chemistry, 5th edition, Longman/Wiley, New York, 1989
^ L. G. Wade, Organic Chemistry, 5th ed., p. 871, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle RIver, New Jersey, 2003
^ J. March, Advanced Organic Chemistry, 4th ed., p. 723, Wiley, New York, 1992
^ Nakajima T, Wang R, Elovaara E, Gonzalez F, Gelboin H, Raunio H, Pelkonen O, Vainio H, Aoyama T (1997). "Toluene metabolism by cDNA-expressed human hepatic cytochrome P450". Biochem Pharmacol 53 (3): 271-7. PMID 9065730.
^ Chapman D, Moore T, Michener S, Powis G. "Metabolism and covalent binding of [14C]toluene by human and rat liver microsomal fractions and liver slices". Drug Metab Dispos 18 (6): 929-36. PMID 1981539.
^ Hanioka H, Hamamura M, Kakino K, Ogata H, Jinno H, Takahashi A, Nishimura T, Ando M (1995). "Dog liver microsomal P450 enzyme-mediated toluene biotransformation". Xenobiotica 25 (11): 1207-17. PMID 8592870.
^ van Doorn R, Leijdekkers C, Bos R, Brouns R, Henderson P (1981). "Alcohol and sulphate intermediates in the metabolism of toluene and xylenes to mercapturic acids". J Appl Toxicol 1 (4): 236-42. PMID 6764216.