Indane or indan is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

with the formula C₆H₄(CH₂)₃. It is a colorless liquid

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...

. It is a

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

, a bicyclic compound. It occurs at the level of about 0.1% in

coal tar Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoriasi ...

. It is usually produced by hydrogenation of

indene Indene is a flammable polycyclic hydrocarbon with chemical formula . It is composed of a benzene ring fused with a cyclopentene ring. This aromatic liquid is colorless although samples often are pale yellow. The principal industrial use of in ...

.Karl Griesbaum, Arno Behr, Dieter Biedenkapp, Heinz-Werner Voges, Dorothea Garbe, Christian Paetz, Gerd Collin, Dieter Mayer, Hartmut Höke "Hydrocarbons" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002 Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.

Reactions

Indane can also be converted in a catalytic reactor to other aromatics such as

xylene In organic chemistry, xylene or xylol (; IUPAC name: dimethylbenzene) are any of three organic compounds with the formula . They are derived from the substitution of two hydrogen atoms with methyl groups in a benzene ring; which hydrogens are sub ...

. Indane is used in the synthesis of sulofenur.

Derivatives

Derivatives include compounds such as 1-methylindane and 2-methylindane (where one methyl group is attached to the five carbon ring), 4-methylindane and 5-methylindane (where one methyl group is attached to the benzene ring), and various dimethylindanes. Other derivatives can be obtained indirectly, e.g. the reaction of

diethyl phthalate Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is a phthalate ester. It occurs as a colourless liquid without significant odour but has a bitter, disagreeable taste. It is more dense than water and insoluble in water; hence, it sinks in water. Synthesis and application ...

with

ethyl acetate Ethyl acetate ( systematically ethyl ethanoate, commonly abbreviated EtOAc, ETAC or EA) is the organic compound with the formula , simplified to . This colorless liquid has a characteristic sweet smell (similar to pear drops) and is used in glues ...

, using metallic

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...

and

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

as a catalyst. The reaction yields indanedione ethyl ester, which can react with the sodium ions yielding a salt. This can be reversed by adding an aqueous solution of

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...

. A family of indane derivatives are empathogen-entactogens. They are very close derivatives of other empathogen-entactogens such as

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in Tablet (pharmacy), tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for Recreational dru ...

and

MDA MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics * Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...

. Examples include

MDAI MDAI (5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane) is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. It acts as a non-neurotoxic and highly binding selectivity, selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) ''in vitro'' a ...

and

MDMAI 5,6-Methylenedioxy-''N''-methyl-2-aminoindane (MDMAI), is a drug developed in the 1990s by a team led by David E. Nichols at Purdue University. It acts as a non-neurotoxic and highly selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) in animals and a ...

. Nichols also created an indane isomer of

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

, 2-aminoindane,

NM-2-AI NM-2-AI (''N''-methyl-2-aminoindane) is a psychoactive drug and research chemical that has been sold online as a designer drug. It is a rigid analogue of methamphetamine. It is a derivative of 2-aminoindane. NM-2-AI acts as a non-neurotoxic an ...

, and an iodized derivative 5-IAI.

References

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Reactions

Derivatives

See also

References