General Description
Yellow to pinkish-orange needles or orange fluffy solid. Strong phenolic odor.
Reactivity Profile
2,4,6-TRICHLOROPHENOL(88-06-2) is incompatible with acid chlorides, acid anhydrides and oxidizing agents. 2,4,6-TRICHLOROPHENOL(88-06-2) can be converted to the sodium salt by reaction with sodium carbonate. Forms ethers, esters and salts by reaction with metals and amines. Undergoes substitution reactions such as nitration, alkylation, acetylation and halogenation. Can be hydrolyzed by reaction with bases at elevated temperatures and pressures. Reacts with alkalis at high temperatures .
Air & Water Reactions
Insoluble in water.
Fire Hazard
Literature sources indicate that this chemical is nonflammable.
Chemical Properties
Yellow flakes; strong phenolic odor. Soluble in
acetone, alcohol, and ether; insoluble in water. Nonflammable.
Physical properties
Colorless needles or yellow solid with a strong, phenolic, musty or rotten vegetable-type odor. At
40 °C, the lowest concentration at which an odor was detected was 380 μg/L. At 25 °C, the lowest
concentration at which a taste was detected was >12 μg/L (Young et al., 1996).
Definition
ChEBI: A trichlorophenol with phenolic substituents on positions 2, 4 and 6.
Health Hazard
In experimental animals, 2,4,6-
trichlorophenol causes toxic effects to the liver
and hematologic system and cancer. There is
no reliable information regarding exposure and
toxic effects in humans.
Carcinogenicity
2,4,6-Trichlorophenol is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in experimental animals.
Environmental Fate
Biological. In activated sludge, only 0.3% mineralized to carbon dioxide after 5 d (Freitag et al.,
1985). In anaerobic sludge, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol degraded to 4-chlorophenol (Mikesell and Boyd,
1985). When 2,4,6-trichlorophenol was statically incubated in the dark at 25 °C with yeast extract
and settled domestic wastewater inoculum, significant biodegradation with rapid adaptation was
observed. At concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L, 96 and 97% biodegradation, respectively, were
observed after 7 d (Tabak et al., 1981).
Photolytic. Titanium dioxide suspended in an aqueous solution and irradiated with UV light (λ
= 365 nm) converted 2,4,6-trinitrophenol to carbon dioxide at a significant rate (Matthews, 1986).
A carbon dioxide yield of 65.8% was achieved when 2,4,6-trichlorophenol adsorbed on silica gel
was irradiated with light (λ >290 nm) for 17 h (Freitag et al., 1985).
Chemical/Physical. An aqueous solution containing chloramine reacted with 2,4,6-trichlorophenol
to yield the following intermediate products after 2 h at 25 °C: 2,6-dichloro-1,4-
benzoquinone-4-(N-chloro)imine and 4,6-dichloro-1,2-benzoquinone-2-(N-chloro)imine (Maeda et
al., 1987).
Purification Methods
Crystallise the phenol from *benzene, EtOH or EtOH/water. [Beilstein 6 IV 1005.]
