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anthracene

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anthracene

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Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) of formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a component of coal tar. Anthracene is used in the production of the red dye alizarin and other dyes, as a scintillator to detect high energy particles, as production of pharmaceutical drugs. Anthracene is colorless but exhibits a blue (400–500 nm peak) fluorescence under ultraviolet radiation.

Chemical data

Formula
C14H10
Molecular weight
178.23 g/mol
IUPAC name
anthracene
SMILES
C1=CC=C2C=C3C=CC=CC3=CC2=C1
InChIKey
MWPLVEDNUUSJAV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP
4.4
Polar surface area
0 Ų
H-bond donors
0
H-bond acceptors
0
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

Wikidata facts

Mass
178.078
Image
Anthracene.jpg
Show 8 more facts
chemical formula
C₁₄H₁₀
melting point
215.0
canonical SMILES
C1=CC=C2C=C3C=CC=CC3=CC2=C1
Commons category
Anthracene
MCN code
2902.90.30
electric dipole moment
0
boiling point
339.95
ionization energy
7.45
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~6 min read

Article

14 sections
Contents
  • History and etymology
  • Occurrence and production
  • Reactions
  • Reduction
  • Cycloadditions
  • With electrophiles
  • Uses
  • Electronics
  • Derivatives
  • Toxicology
  • See also
  • References
  • Cited sources
  • External links

Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) of formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a component of coal tar. Anthracene is used in the production of the red dye alizarin and other dyes, as a scintillator to detect high energy particles, as production of pharmaceutical drugs. Anthracene is colorless but exhibits a blue (400–500 nm peak) fluorescence under ultraviolet radiation.

== History and etymology == Crude anthracene (with a melting point of only 180°) was discovered in 1832 by Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Auguste Laurent who crystalized it from a fraction of coal tar later known as "anthracene oil". Since their (inaccurate) measurements showed the proportions of carbon and hydrogen of it to be the same as in naphthalene, Laurent called it paranaphtaline in his 1835 publication of the discovery, which is translated to English as paranaphthalene. Two years later, however, he decided to rename the compound to its modern name derived from because after discovering other polyaromatic hydrocarbons he decided it was only one of isomers of naphthalene. This notion was disproved in 1850s and 1860s.

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