Benzoic acid

Description

A white, crystalline powder obtained from Benzoin resin or other balsams. Benzoic acid is used as a mordant in calico printing, as an antifungal agent and for organic synthetic.

Chemical structure

Synonyms and Related Terms

acid of benzoin; carboxybenzene; benzenecarboxylic acid; phenyl carboxylic acid; phenylformic acid; dracylic acid

Risks

• Mildly irritating to skin and membranes.
• Moderately toxic by ingestion.
• Combustible.
• Fisher Scientific: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in ethanol, ether, chloroform, benzene, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, turpentine. Slightly soluble in water.

Composition	C6H5COOH
CAS	65-85-0
Melting Point	122.4 C
Density	1.2659 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt.=122.1
Boiling Point	249.2 C

Resources and Citations

• Susan E. Schur, Conservation Terminology: A review of Past & Current Nomenclature of Materials, Technology and Conservation, Spring (p.34-39); Summer (p.35-38); Fall (p.25-36), 1985

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 1122

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 777

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

• 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