Phthalic acid

Description

Colorless, odorless crystalline organic acid. Phthalic acid was first synthesized by Auguste Laurent in 1836. It is used in the manufacture of several dyes including indigo and phenolphthalein.

Synonyms and Related Terms

o-phthalic acid; o-benzene dicarboxylic acid; o-dicarboxybenzene

Chemical structure

Other Properties

Soluble in ethanol. Slightly soluble in water, ether. Insoluble in chloroform.

Composition	C6H4(COOH)2
CAS	88-99-3
Melting Point	191-210 (dec)
Density	1.585-1.593
Molecular Weight	mol. wt.=166.14

Hazards and Safety

Irritating to mucous membranes and skin.

Mallinckrodt Baker: MSDS

Authority

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

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 7527

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalic_acid (accessed Mar. 14, 2006)

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

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