General Description
A light colored liquid. May be irritating to skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Flash point 100-141°F.
Reactivity Profile
TETRAHYDRONAPHTHALENE(119-64-2) may react vigorously with strong oxidizing agents. May react exothermically with reducing agents to release hydrogen gas. Oxidizes readily in air to form unstable peroxides that may explode spontaneously [Bretherick 1979 p.151-154].
Air & Water Reactions
Flammable.
Health Hazard
Liquid may cause nervous disturbance, green coloration of urine, and skin and eye irritation
Chemical Properties
colourless liquid with a mouldy smell
Chemical Properties
Tetralin or 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene is a flammable
liquid.
Uses
As a solvent for fats and oils and as an
alternative to turpentine in polishes and paint;
insecticide.
Uses
Degreasing agent. Solvent for naphthalene, fats, resins, oils, waxes, used instead of turpentine in lacquers, shoe polishes, floor waxes.
Definition
ChEBI: An ortho-fused bicyclic hydrocarbon that is 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro derivative of naphthalene.
Production Methods
Tetralin is prepared by the catalytic hydrogenation of
naphthalene or during acidic, catalytic hydrocracking of
phenanthrene. At 700℃, tetralin yields tars that contain
appreciable quantities of 3,4-benzopyrene (172a).
Synthesis Reference(s)
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 111, p. 314, 1989
DOI: 10.1021/ja00183a048Tetrahedron Letters, 12, p. 1853, 1971
Hazard
Irritant to eyes and skin; narcotic in high
concentration.
Carcinogenicity
In male and female F344/N and
NBR rats exposed to tetralin at concentrations of 0, 30, 60, or
120 ppm, 6 h plus T90 (12 min) per day, 5 days per week for
105 weeks, there were slightly increased incidences of cortical
renal tubule adenoma in male rats. The incidence of
cortical renal tubule adenomawas also significantly increased
in the 120 ppm group. Exposure of male and female B6C3F1
mice to tetralin at concentrations of 0, 30, 60, or 120 ppm, 6 h
plus T90 (12 min) per day, 5 days per week for 105 weeks and
additional groups of male and female mice to the same
concentrations for 12 months led to increased incidence of
hemangiosarcoma of the spleen in 120 ppm females (172b).
Purification Methods
Wash tetralin with successive portions of conc H2SO4 until the acid layer is no longer coloured, then wash it with aqueous 10% Na2CO3, and then distilled water. Dry (CaSO4 or Na2SO4), filter, reflux and fractionally distil it under under reduced pressure from sodium or BaO. It can also be purified by repeated fractional freezing. Bass [J Chem Soc 3498 1964] freed tetralin, purified as above, from naphthalene and other impurities by conversion to ammonium tetralin-6-sulfonate. Concentrated H2SO4 (150mL) is added slowly to stirred tetralin (272mL) which is then heated on a water bath for about 2hours for complete solution. The warm mixture, when poured into aqueous NH4Cl solution (120g in 400mL water), gives a white precipitate which, after filtering off, is crystallised from boiling water, washed with 50% aqueous EtOH and dried at 100o. Evaporation of its boiling aqueous solution on a steam bath removes traces of naphthalene. The pure salt (229g) is mixed with conc H2SO4 (266mL) and steam distilled from an oil bath at 165-170o. An ether extract of the distillate is washed with aqueous Na2SO4, and the ether is evaporated, prior to distilling the tetralin from sodium. Tetralin has also been purified via barium tetralin-6-sulfonate, conversion to the sodium salt and decomposed in 60% H2SO4 using superheated steam. [Beilstein 5 H 491, 5 III 1219, 5 IV 1388.]
