BENZYL ALCOHOL

~ also known as Phenylmethanol; Benzoyl alcohol; Benzenemethanol; 100-51-6; Phenylcarbinol; etc. is produced naturally by many plants and is commonly found in fruits and teas. It is also found in a variety of essential oils including jasmine, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, and in castoreum from the castor sacs of beavers. Due to increasing demand from end-use industries, the global Benzyl Alcohol Market is expected to reach US$282.3 million by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 4.2% during the forecast period 2017 – 2025.

Chemical structure: Benzyl alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with the formula C₇H₈O or C₆H₅CH₂OH. The benzyl group is often abbreviated “Bn”, thus benzyl alcohol is denoted as BnOH.

Properties: Benzyl alcohol is a colorless liquid with a mild pleasant aromatic odor. It is slightly denser than water. It is slightly toxic by ingestion.

C₆H₅CH₂Cl + NaOH → C₆H₅CH₂OH + NaCl

Chemical reactions and Uses: Like most alcohols, it reacts with carboxylic acids to form esters. In organic synthesis, benzyl esters are popular protecting groups because they can be removed by mild hydrogenolysis.

In a typical Ritter reaction, Benzyl alcohol reacts with acrylonitrile to give N-benzylacrylamide.

C₆H₅CH₂OH + NCCHCH₂ → C₆H₅CH₂N(H)C(O)CHCH₂

Benzyl alcohol is used as a general solvent for inks, waxes, shellacs, paints, lacquers, and epoxy resin coatings. It is used in the soap, perfume, and flavor industries. It is also used in e-liquid for e-cigarettes to enhance the flavors used. When applied to damaged skin or mucous membranes at a 10% concentration, it acts as a local anesthetic and antimicrobial agent and is sometimes included as a degreaser in rug cleaning products. As a dye solvent, it enhances the process of dying wool, nylon, and leather. It can also be used in photographic development and as an insect repellent.

In nanotechnology, Benzyl alcohol has been used as a dielectric solvent for the dielectrophoretic reconfiguration of nanowires.

In medicine, Benzyl alcohol is used as a bacteriostatic preservative at low concentration in intravenous medications, cosmetics, and topical drugs. Benzyl alcohol is used effectively for treating lice infestations as the active ingredient in lotion shampoo with 5% benzyl alcohol.