Neopentyl glycol (

IUPAC The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...

name: 2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diol) is an organic

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

. It is used in the synthesis of

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

s, and

plasticizer A plasticizer ( UK: plasticiser) is a substance that is added to a material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase its plasticity, to decrease its viscosity, and/or to decrease friction during its handling in manufacture. Plasticiz ...

s. When used in the manufacture of polyesters, it enhances the stability of the product towards heat, light, and water. By

esterification In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...

reaction with fatty or

carboxylic In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is or , with R referring to the alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, or other group. Carboxylic ...

acids, synthetic lubricating esters with reduced potential for

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

, compared to natural esters, can be produced.

Reactions

Neopentyl glycol is synthesized industrially by the

aldol reaction The aldol reaction is a means of forming carbon–carbon bonds in organic chemistry. Discovered independently by the Russian chemist Alexander Borodin in 1869 and by the French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz in 1872, the reaction combines two carb ...

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...

and

isobutyraldehyde Isobutyraldehyde is the chemical compound with the formula (CH3)2CHCHO. It is an aldehyde, isomeric with n-butyraldehyde (butanal). Isobutyraldehyde is made, often as a side-product, by the hydroformylation of propene. Its odour is described as ...

. This creates the intermediate

hydroxypivaldehyde Hydroxypivaldehyde is the organic compound with the formula HOCH2(CH3)2CCHO. A colorless liquid, it is produced by condensation of formaldehyde and isobutyraldehyde: :CH2O + (CH3)2CHCHO → HOCH2(CH3)2CCHO The compound is a rare example of a ...

, which can be converted to neopentyl glycol by either a

Cannizzaro reaction The Cannizzaro reaction, named after its discoverer Stanislao Cannizzaro, is a chemical reaction which involves the base-induced disproportionation of two molecules of a non-enolizable aldehyde to give a primary alcohol and a carboxylic acid. : ...

with excess formaldehyde, or by hydrogenation using palladium on carbon. It is used as a

protecting group A protecting group or protective group is introduced into a molecule by chemical modification of a functional group to obtain chemoselectivity in a subsequent chemical reaction. It plays an important role in multistep organic synthesis. In many ...

for ketones, for example in

gestodene Gestodene, sold under the brand names Femodene and Minulet among others, is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills for women. It is also used in menopausal hormone therapy. The medication is available almost exclusively in ...

synthesis. A

condensation reaction In organic chemistry, a condensation reaction is a type of chemical reaction in which two molecules are combined to form a single molecule, usually with the loss of a small molecule such as water. If water is lost, the reaction is also known as a ...

of neopentyl glycol with

2,6-di-tert-butylphenol 2,6-Di-''tert''-butylphenol is an organic compound with the structural formula 2,6-((CH3)3C)2C6H3OH. This colorless solid alkylated phenol and its derivatives are used industrially as UV stabilizers and antioxidants for hydrocarbon-based produc ...

gives

CGP-7930 CGP-7930 is a compound used in scientific research which acts as a positive allosteric modulator at the GABAB receptor. It has anxiolytic effects in animal studies, and has a synergistic effect with GABAB agonists such as baclofen and GHB, as w ...

. Organoboronic acid esters of neopentyl glycol are useful in the

Suzuki reaction The Suzuki reaction is an organic reaction, classified as a cross-coupling reaction, where the coupling partners are a boronic acid and an organohalide and the catalyst is a palladium(0) complex. It was first published in 1979 by Akira Suzuki, ...

. Neopentyl glycol is the starting material used to synthesize

Neopentyl glycol diglycidyl ether Neopentyl glycol diglycidyl ether (NPGDGE) is an organic chemical in the glycidyl ether family. It is aliphatic and a colorless liquid. It has the formula C11H20O4 and the CAS registry number of 17557-23-2. It has two oxirane groups per molecule. I ...

. It is reacted with

epichlorohydrin Epichlorohydrin (abbreviated ECH) is an organochlorine compound and an epoxide. Despite its name, it is not a halohydrin. It is a colorless liquid with a pungent, garlic-like odor, moderately soluble in water, but miscible with most polar organi ...

using a

Lewis acid A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any sp ...

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

and the intermediate

halohydrin In organic chemistry a halohydrin (also a haloalcohol or β-halo alcohol) is a functional group in which a halogen and a hydroxyl are bonded to adjacent carbon atoms, which otherwise bear only hydrogen or hydrocarbyl groups (e.g. 2-chloroethan ...

is further reacted with

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic base and alkali ...

to dehydrochlorinate it to give the finished product.

Research

It has been reported that

plastic crystal A plastic crystal is a crystal composed of weakly interacting molecules that possess some orientational or conformational degree of freedom. The name plastic crystal refers to the mechanical softness of such phases: they resemble waxes and are easil ...

s of neopentyl glycol exhibit a colossal barocaloric effect (CBCEs), which is a cooling effect caused by pressure-induced phase transitions. The obtained entropy changes are about 389 joules per kilogram per kelvin near room temperature. This CBCE phenomenon is likely to be very useful in future solid-state

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

technologies.

References

{{Reflist Monomers Plasticizers Alkanediols

Reactions

Research

See also

References