Cyclododecane

Colorless solid with a musty odor

Fixed

0.830 g · cm -3

61 ° C

243 ° C.

0.1 mbar ( 20 ° C)

Practically insoluble in water (10 mg · l-1 at 20 ° C)

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search available

Cyclododecane is a chemical compound from the group of alicyclic saturated hydrocarbon ( more specifically, the cycloalkanes ).

Production and representation

Cyclododecane can be obtained industrially from 1,3-butadiene by catalytic trimerisation ( conversion to 1,5,9- cyclododecatriene ), followed by hydrogenation.

Properties

The skeletal formula shown in the infobox is not the "real" molecular structure. The twelve carbon atoms do not lie in one plane. Furthermore, the molecule "flexible", i.e., its atoms are in the molecule association in perpetual motion realized ( pseudorotation ). This different conformations are possible.

In the crystalline state is - as an X-ray crystal structure analysis showed low temperature - a front conformer having D4 which symmetry. It was referred to as "square" ( "square" ), because some carbon atoms can be understood as vertices of a square.

Cyclododecane is a colorless flammable solid with a musty odor, which is practically insoluble in water. Cyclododecane is insoluble in highly polar solvents and soluble in nonpolar solvents such as alkanes or chlorinated hydrocarbons. The compound has the unusual property of sublimating at room temperature and thus disappear within a short time. The structure of the solid is different for precipitation from a solution and the solidification of a melt. When precipitation from a solution Cyclododecane can form long crystalline needles, which crystal formation is largely dependent on the rate of evaporation of the solvent selected.

Use

Cyclododecane is used as a temporary binder, to secure, and in paper conservation. It is also used as an intermediate for the preparation of other chemical compounds such as cyclododecanone, 1,12- dodecanedioic acid or laurolactam.