Phthalic Anhydride (PA - 99.8%)

Product Description

1) Phthalic anhydride is the organic compound with the formula C8H4O3. This anhydride of phthalic acid, a colourless solid, is an important industrial chemical, especially for the large-scale production of plasticizers for plastics. In ***2, approximately 4.6 billion kilograms were produced

2) Applications in industry and organic synthesis

Phthalic anhydride is a versatile intermediate in organic chemistry, in part because it is bifunctional and cheaply available. It undergoes hydrolysis and alcoholysis. Hydrolysis by hot water forms ortho-phthalic acid. This process is reversible: Phthalic anhydride re-forms upon heating the acid above **0 °C.

3) Hydrolysis of anhydrides is not typically a reversible process. However, phthalic acid is easily dehydrated to form phthalic anhydride due to the creation of a thermodynamically favorable *-membered ring.

Organic synthesis

4) Phthalic anhydride is a precursor to a variety of reagents useful in organic synthesis. Important derivatives include phthalimide and its many derivatives. Chiral alcohols form half-esters (see above), and these derivatives are often resolvable because they form diastereomeric salts with chiral amines such as brucine. A related ring-opening reaction involves peroxides to give the useful peroxy acid:

5) Precursor to dyestuffs

6) Phthalic anhydride is widely used in industry for the production of certain dyes. A well-known application of this reactivity is the preparation of the anthroquinone dye quinizarin by reaction with para-chlorophenol followed by hydrolysis of the chloride.

Technology data of Phthalic Anhydride