Chemical Properties
light yellow powder or crystals with a camphor-like odour
Chemical Properties
Benzoin has a faint, sweet, balsamic odor.
Occurrence
Benzoin is a resin from the trees of genus Styrax.
Uses
Benzoin is used as a flavor, antiseptic and photopolymerization catalyst. It is also used as a raw material in organic syntheses. It serves as a precursor to benzil, which is a photoinitiator. Further, it is used as degassing agent for powder coatings. In addition to this, it is used as an additive and in powder coating to remove the pinhole phenomenon.
Uses
benzoin is a fragrant essential oil with bactericidal, anti-irritation, and anti-itching properties. It is considered a good ingredient for reducing skin redness and is a preservative of fats. Although its primary constituent is benzoic acid, it also contains canillin and an oily aromatic liquid. This balsamic resin is extracted by cutting deeply into the trunks of trees that grow primarily in Indonesia and Thailand.
Uses
Degassing for powder coatings
Definition
ChEBI: A ketone that consists of acetophenone bearing hydroxy and phenyl substituents at the alpha-position. The parent of the class of benzoins.
Definition
benzoin: A colourless crystallinecompound, C
6H
5CHOHCOC
6H
5; m.p.137°C. It is a condensation product ofbenzenecarbaldehyde (benzaldehyde),made by the action of sodiumcyanide on benzenecarbaldehyde inalcoholic solution. It also occurs naturallyas the resin of a tropical tree. Itis both a secondary alcohol and a ketone,and gives reactions characteristicof both types of compound.
Taste threshold values
Taste characteristics at 25 ppm: spicy, balsamic, resinous, fruity with an herbal nuance.
General Description
Off-white to yellow-white crystalline solid with an odor of camphor. Slightly acrid taste. When broken the fresh surfaces have a milky-white color.
Air & Water Reactions
Insoluble in water.
Reactivity Profile
2-Hydroxy-2-phenylacetophenone is sensitive to heat and light. 2-Hydroxy-2-phenylacetophenone is incompatible with oxidizers. 2-Hydroxy-2-phenylacetophenone reduces Fehling's solution.
Fire Hazard
Flash point data for 2-Hydroxy-2-phenylacetophenone are not available; however, 2-Hydroxy-2-phenylacetophenone is probably combustible.
Safety Profile
Slightly toxic by ingestion andskin contact. Mutation data reported. A flammable liquid.When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke andirritating fumes.
Synthesis
It may be prepared by condensation of benzaldehyde with an alkali cyanide and used in organic synthesis.
Purification Methods
Crystallise benzoin from CCl4, hot EtOH (8mL/g), or 50% acetic acid. Also crystallise it from high purity *benzene, then twice from high purity MeOH, to remove fluorescent impurities [Elliott & Radley Anal Chem 33 1623 1961]. It can be sublimed. [Beilstein 8 IV 1279.]
