Hydroquinone

Description

A white crystalline compound. Hydroquinone is used in black and white photographic processing as a Reducing agent. It is also used as an Antioxidant in polymers and as a Stabilizer in paints and varnishes.

FTIR

Chemical structure

Synonyms and Related Terms

1,4-benzenediol; p-dihydroxybenzene; hydroquinol; quinol; Aida; Black and White Bleaching Cream; Eldoquin; Eldopaque; Tecquinol; Quinol; hydrochinon; hydrokinone; 1,4-dihydroxybenzene;

Risks

• Combustible. Flash point =165 C (329 F).
• Highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation.
• Skin contact can cause severe irritation.
• Echemi: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in water, ethanol and ether. Slightly soluble in benzene.

Composition	C6H4(OH)2
CAS	123-31-9
Melting Point	170-171 C
Density	1.332 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt.=110.11
Boiling Point	285-287 C

Resources and Citations

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 4796

• Photographic chemicals: www.jetcity.com/~mrjones/chemdesc.htm -

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroquinone (Accessed Mar. 20, 2006)

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998