Phenol, also called benzenol, carbolic acid, or phenolic acid is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula C6H5OH.

Phenol is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. 

The molecule comprises a phenyl group (−C6H5) bonded to a hydroxy group (−OH). 

CAS Number: 108-95-2 

EC / List no.: 203-632-7

Mol. formula: C6H6O

Synonyms: Benzenol; Carbolic acid; Caswell No. 649; Hydroxybenzene; Izal; Monohydroxybenzene; Monophenol; NCI-C50124; Oxybenzene; Phenic acid; Phenyl alcohol; Phenyl hydrate; Phenyl hydroxide; Phenylic acid; Phenylic alcohol; EPA Pesticide Code: 064001, Phenic, monohydroxybenzene, oxybenzene, monophenol, phenyl hydrate, phenylic alcohol; phenol alcohol; phenyl alcohol, phenol reagent, benzenol, carbolic, monophenol, Baker's P and S liquid and ointment, NCI-C50124, NA 2821 Molten RCRA.

Uses of Phenol: Industrial and medical disinfectant; chemical intermediate in the manufacture of synthetic fibers, epoxy, and other resins; solvent for petroleum refining; component of coal tar, tobacco smoke, and motor vehicle emissions.

Phenol is used as a general disinfectant, as a reagent in chemical analysis, and for the manufacture of artificial resins, medical and industrial organic compounds, and dyes. 

Phenol is also used to manufacture fertilizers, explosives, paints and paint removers, drugs, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and coke. 

Phenol is produced in large volumes, mainly as an intermediate in producing other chemicals.

The most extensive single use of phenol is as an intermediate in producing phenolic resins, which are low-cost, versatile, thermoset resins used in the plywood adhesive, construction, automotive, and appliance industries. 

Phenol is also used as an intermediate in producing caprolactam, which is used to make nylon and other synthetic fibers, and bisphenol A, used to make epoxy and other resins.

Preferred IUPAC name

Phenol

Systematic IUPAC name

Benzenol

Other names

Carbolic acid

Phenolic acid

Phenylic acid

Hydroxybenzene

Phenic acid

Phenyl alcohol

Chemical formula: C6H6O

Molar mass: 94.113 g/mol

Appearance: Transparent crystalline solid

Odor: Sweet and tarry

Density: 1.07 g/cm3

Melting point: 40.5 °C (104.9 °F; 313.6 K)

Boiling point: 181.7 °C (359.1 °F; 454.8 K)

Solubility in water: 8.3 g/100 mL (20 °C)

log P: 1.48

Vapor pressure: 0.4 mmHg (20 °C)

Acidity (pKa)

9.95 (in water),

18.0 (in DMSO),

29.1 (in acetonitrile)

Conjugate base: Phenoxide

UV-vis (λmax): 270.75 nm

Dipole moment: 1.224 D

Phenols have unique properties and are not classified as alcohols. They have higher acidities due to the aromatic ring's tight coupling with the oxygen and a relatively loose bond between oxygen and hydrogen.

Phenol was first extracted from coal tar but is now produced on a large scale by industrial processes starting with crude oil. 

Phenol is famous as a precursor to many materials and beneficial compounds, such as phenolic resins, plastics, and related materials. 

Phenol also manufactures explosives, fertilizers, paints, rubber, textiles, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, paper, soap, and wood preservatives. 

Phenol in condensation with acetone gives bisphenol-A, a fundamental polycarbonate building block. 

In medicine, phenol has been used as an exfoliant during cosmetic surgery, phenolization (applied to the nail bed to prevent regrowth of nails), and analgesia. 

Phenol is a potent neurotoxin, and if injected into the bloodstream, it can cause immediate death because it cuts the neural transmission system. 

Injections of phenol have occasionally been used as a means of execution.

Phenol is a family of organic compounds characterized by a hydroxyl (―OH) group attached to a carbon atom that is part of an aromatic ring. 

Besides serving as the generic name for the entire family, phenol is also the specific name for its simplest member, monohydroxybenzene (C6H5OH), also known as benzenol or carbolic acid.

Phenols are similar to alcohols but form stronger hydrogen bonds. 

Thus, they are more soluble in water than alcohol and have higher boiling points. 

Phenols occur either as colorless liquids or white solids at room temperature and may be highly toxic and caustic.

Phenols are widely used in household products and as intermediates for industrial synthesis. 

 Phenol may have been the first surgical antiseptic. 

In 1865 the British surgeon Joseph Lister used phenol as an antiseptic to sterilize his operating field. 

With phenol used this way, the mortality rate from surgical amputations fell from 45 to 15 percent in Lister’s ward. 

Phenol is quite toxic, and concentrated solutions cause severe but painless burns of the skin and mucous membranes. 

In industry, phenol is used as a starting material to make plastics, explosives such as picric acid, and drugs such as aspirin. 

The common phenol hydroquinone is the component of photographic developer that reduces exposed silver bromide crystals to black metallic silver. 

Other substituted phenols are used in the dye industry to make intensely colored azo dyes. 

Mixtures of phenols (especially cresols) are used as components in wood preservatives such as creosote.

Mildly acidic, Phenol requires careful handling because it can cause chemical burns.

Phenol was first extracted from coal tar but today is produced on a large scale from petroleum-derived feedstocks. 

Phenol is a necessary industrial commodity precursor to many materials and beneficial compounds.

Phenol is primarily used to synthesize plastics and related materials. 

Phenol and its chemical derivatives are essential for producing polycarbonates, epoxies, Bakelite, nylon, detergents, phenoxy herbicides, and numerous pharmaceutical drugs.

Phenol is a weak acid. (pH 6.6). 

In an aqueous solution in the pH range ca. 8 - 12, it is in equilibrium with the phenolate anion C6H5O− (also called phenoxide or carbolate)

Phenol is more acidic than aliphatic alcohol. 

Its enhanced acidity is attributed to the resonance stabilization of phenolate anion. 

This way, the negative charge on oxygen is delocalized onto the ortho and para carbon atoms through the pi system.

PHENOL is a colorless or light yellow-rosy crystalline mass with a strong characteristic odor. 

Caustic, toxic soluble in water and organic solvents like ether, ethyl alcohol, and acetone. 

Phenol is used to manufacture phenolic resins. 

Only for industrial use. The product is not intended for cosmetic applications.

Uses of Phenol

Phenol is vital to manufacturing other chemical products such as phenolic adhesives, polycarbonates, and epoxy resins, providing essential raw materials for many industry sectors. 

Phenol is critical to many end products including plywood, window glazing, flooring and countertop laminates, televisions, computers, household appliances, sports equipment, and boats.

The significant uses of phenol, consuming two-thirds of its production, involve its conversion to plastic precursors. 

Condensation with acetone gives bisphenol-A, an essential precursor to polycarbonates and epoxide resins. 

Condensation of phenol, alkylphenols, or diphenols with formaldehyde gives phenolic resins, a famous example of which is Bakelite. 

Partial hydrogenation of phenol gives cyclohexanone, a precursor to nylon. 

The alkylation of phenol produces nonionic detergents to give the alkylphenols, e.g., nonylphenol, which are then subjected to ethoxylation.

Phenol is also a versatile precursor to an extensive collection of drugs, most notably aspirin and many herbicides and pharmaceutical drugs.

Phenol is a component in liquid–the liquid phenol–chloroform extraction technique used in molecular biology for obtaining nucleic acids from tissues or cell culture samples.

Depending on the solution's pH, DNA or RNA can be extracted.

Medical Use of PHENOL

Phenol was widely used as an antiseptic. 

From the early 1900s to the 1970s, it produced carbolic soap. 

Concentrated phenol liquids are used for permanent treatment of ingrown toe and fingernails, a procedure known as a chemical matrixectomy. 

The procedure was first described by Otto Boll in 1945. 

Since then, phenol has become the chemical of choice for chemical matrixectomies performed by podiatrists.

Concentrated liquid phenol can be used topically as a local anesthetic for otology procedures, such as myringotomy and tympanotomy tube placement, as an alternative to general anesthesia or other local anesthetics. 

It also has hemostatic and antiseptic qualities, making it ideal for this use.

Phenol spray, usually at 1.4% phenol as an active ingredient, is used medically to treat sore throat.

It is the active ingredient in oral analgesics such as Chloraseptic spray, TCP, and Carmex.

Niche uses of PHENOL

Phenol is so inexpensive that it also attracts many small-scale uses. 

Phenol is a component of industrial paint strippers used in the aviation industry to remove epoxy, polyurethane, and other chemically resistant coatings.

Due to safety concerns, phenol is banned from cosmetic products in the European Union and Canada.

Phenol is produced from cumene in what is known as the four-stage Hock production process. 

Phenol is formed by air oxidation from cumene to cumene hydroperoxide and subsequent catalytic cleavage into phenol and acetone.

It is an essential starting material for various electrical/electronics, automotive, construction, and household/furniture applications. 

Phenol can be combined with formaldehyde to produce phenolic resins, representing the second-largest commercial use of phenol. 

Phenolic resins are used in various applications, including plywood and oriented strand board, furniture, insulation materials, laminates, foundry molds, and adhesives.

 Another application for phenol is as the raw material for caprolactam and adipic acid to produce nylon intermediates. 

Significant uses include engineering thermoplastics and synthetic fibers for clothing and carpeting.

Phenol is a type of aromatic compound widely used as a raw material for phenol resin (for automotive parts, etc.), which is essential as a molding material, polycarbonate resin (for various home appliances, OA equipment, etc.), and bisphenol A, which constitutes epoxy resin (for semiconductor encapsulation materials, etc.).