Thursday, May 26, 2011

A Monograph on Dipropylene Glycol

Dipropylene glycol (DPG) is a colorless and odorless compound, composing of three isomeric chemical compounds: 4-oxa-2,6-heptandiol, 2-(2-hydroxy-propoxy)-propan-1-ol, and 2-(2-hydroxy-1-methyl-ethoxy)-propan-1-ol. Having a chemical formula of C6H14O3, dipropylene glycol has a molar mass of 134.173 g/mol and a CAS number of 25265-71-8. DPG’s official IUPAC names are 4-oxa-2,6-heptandiol and 4-oxa-1,7-heptandiol.

Dipropylene glycol has a boiling point of 230.5°C and a melting point of 46°-48°C. It has a density of 1.0206 a/cm3 (20°C), a vapor density of 4.63 (air=1), and a vapor pressure of 0.1 mmHg (20°C). DPG is soluble in water and ethanol while insoluble with ether and benzene.

DPG is a chemical intermediate for a lot of industrial applications. It is either sold as regular grade or as lo+. The regular variant is a popular plasticizer, reactant for unsaturated polyurethane resins to add flexibility and hydrolytic stability, initiator for urethane polyols, and reactive diluent for radiation-
cured resins and coating to decrease viscosity and enable easy application. Dipropylene glycol is also an additive for hydraulic brake fluid formulations, cutting oils, textile lubricants, printing inks, coatings, industrial soaps, and agricultural solvents.

However, the LO+ variant is a highly pure product for odor-sensitive applications like cosmetics and perfumes. This odorless dipropylene glycol is distilled with a purity of greater than 99.5 percent. It is an ideal solvent for perfumes, colognes, lotions and body creams, deodorants, shampoos, shaving creams, and bath gels.

All information were sourced from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipropylene_glycol), the University of Akron chemical database (http://ull.chemistry.uakron.edu/erd/Chemicals/8000/7347.html), and Dow® Chemicals (http://www.dow.com/propyleneglycol/products/dipropylene_regular.htm). 

Visit these websites for more details.

No comments:

Post a Comment