The bisphenols () are a group of chemical compounds related to
diphenylmethane
Diphenylmethane is an organic compound with the formula (C6H5)2CH2 (often abbreviated ). The compound consists of methane wherein two hydrogen atoms are replaced by two phenyl groups. It is a white solid.
Diphenylmethane is a common skeleton in or ...
. Most are based on two
hydroxyphenyl functional groups linked by a
methylene bridge
In organic chemistry, a methylene bridge, methylene spacer, or methanediyl group is any part of a molecule with formula ; namely, a carbon atom bound to two hydrogen atoms and connected by single bonds to two other distinct atoms in the rest of t ...
. Exceptions include bisphenol S, P, and M. "Bisphenol" is a
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
; the letter following denotes the variant, which depends on the additional substituents.
Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound primarily used in the manufacturing of various plastics. It is a colourless solid which is soluble in most common organic solvents, but has very poor solubility in water. BPA is produced on an industrial s ...
is the most popular representative of the group, often simply called "bisphenol".
[.]
List
Health effects
Bisphenols A (BPA), F (BPF) and S (BPS) have been shown to be
endocrine disruptors. Due to its high production volumes, BPA has been characterised as a "pseudo-persistent" chemical, leading to its spreading and potential accumulation in a variety of environmental matrices, even though it has a fairly short
half-life
Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable at ...
.
[See Bisphenol A#Environmental effects for extensive discussion]
References
* For additional examples and alternate names, see: {{cite book , title= Polymer Science Dictionary , first= Mark , last= Alger , publisher= Springer , year= 2017 , isbn= 9789402408935 , page= 77
Endocrine disruptors