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glycerol

File:Glycerin_Skelett.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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glycerol

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Also known as glycyl alcohol, glycerine, propane-1,2,3-triol, trihydroxypropane, propanetriol, glycerin

Glycerol () is a sugar alcohol with chemical formula . It has three carbon atoms and as many hydroxyl groups. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid at Standard Ambient Temperature and Pressure (SATP). Because of its three hydroxyl groups, glycerol is miscible with water and is hygroscopic in nature.

OverviewAI-generated

Glycerol, also identified by the IUPAC name propane-1,2,3-triol, is a chemical compound with the formula C₃H₈O₃. It has a molecular mass of 92.047 and a density of 1.2613. The substance exhibits a dynamic viscosity of 1412 and a relative permittivity of 46.53. Its standard molar entropy is 206.3, while the standard enthalpy of formation values are listed as -669.6 and -577.9.

Physical properties include a speed of sound of 1904, thermal conductivity of 0.296, and an electric dipole moment of 2.56. The molar enthalpy of vaporization is 61.0, and the molar fusion enthalpy is 18.3. Glycerol has a pKa of 14.15 and a vapor pressure of 0.00337. Its autoignition temperature is 400, with a decomposition point of 554 and a lower flammable limit of 99.

The compound has a median lethal dose (LD50) of 56750 and a time-weighted average exposure limit of 15. It is characterized by three hydrogen bond donors and three hydrogen bond acceptors, with a topological polar surface area of 60.7. The xlogp value is -1.8, and the molecule carries a charge of 0.

Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubChem, PubMed, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula
C3H8O3
Molecular weight
92.09 g/mol
IUPAC name
propane-1,2,3-triol
SMILES
C(C(CO)O)O
InChIKey
PEDCQBHIVMGVHV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP
-1.8
Polar surface area
60.7 Ų
H-bond donors
3
H-bond acceptors
3
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

Research

72,661 papers

via PubMed

~18 min read

Encyclopedic overview

26 sections
Contents
  • Structure
  • Production
  • Natural sources
  • Synthetic glycerol
  • Applications
  • Food industry
  • Medical
  • Botanical extracts
  • Electronic cigarette liquid
  • Antifreeze
  • Chemical intermediate
  • Vibration damping
  • Niche uses
  • Entertainment industry
  • Ultrasonic couplant
  • Internal combustion fuel
  • Research on additional uses
  • Metabolism
  • Toxicity and safety
  • Glycerol intoxication
  • Historical cases of contamination with diethylene glycol
  • Etymology
  • Properties
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Glycerol () is a sugar alcohol with chemical formula . It has three carbon atoms and as many hydroxyl groups. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid at Standard Ambient Temperature and Pressure (SATP). Because of its three hydroxyl groups, glycerol is miscible with water and is hygroscopic in nature.

The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides, where one or more of the hydroxyl groups are esterified with fatty acids. The most abundant of glycerides are triglycerides (found in animal fats and vegetable oils), the form in which glycerol is most commonly found in nature. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pharmaceutical formulations.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “glycerol” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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