Xylenol

Xylenols are organic compounds with the formula (CH3)2C6H3OH. They are volatile colorless solids or oily liquids. They are derivatives of phenol with two methyl groups at various positions relative to the hydroxyl group. Six isomers exist, of which 2,6-xylenol with both methyl groups in an ortho position with respect to the hydroxyl group is the most important. The name xylenol is a portmanteau of the words xylene and phenol.

2,4-Dimethylphenol together with other xylenols and many other compounds are traditionally extracted from coal tar, the volatile materials obtained in the production of coke from coal. These residue contains a few percent by weight of xylenols as well as cresols and phenol. The main xylenols in such tar are the 3,5-, 2,4, and 2,3- isomers. 2,6-Xylenol is produced by methylation of phenol using methanol in the presence of metal oxide catalysts:[1]

C6H5OH + 2 CH3OH → (CH3)2C6H3OH + 2 H2O

Typically, xylenols also ethylphenols, which have very similar physical properties.[2]

  1. ^ Helmut Fiegein "Cresols and Xylenols" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2007; Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a08_025
  2. ^ Fiege, Helmut; Voges, Heinz-Werner; Hamamoto, Toshikazu; Umemura, Sumio; Iwata, Tadao; Miki, Hisaya; Fujita, Yasuhiro; Buysch, Hans-Josef; Garbe, Dorothea; Paulus, Wilfried (2000). "Phenol Derivatives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a19_313. ISBN 3527306730.