4-Ethyltoluene 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. Th ...

with the formula CH₃C₆H₄C₂H₅. It is one of three

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formulae – that is, same number of atoms of each element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. Isomerism is existence or possibility of isomers. Is ...

s of ethyltoluene, the other two isomers being 3-ethyltoluene and 2-ethyltoluene. All are colorless liquids and all are used for the production of specialty

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the Aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin pe ...

Production and use

Ethyltoluene is produced by ethylation of

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) ...

: :CH₃C₆H₅ + C₂H₄ → CH₃C₆H₄C₂H₅ Over typical acid catalysts, this process gives a mixture of the 2-, 3-, and 4- isomers. Using a modified

zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These p ...

catalyst, the alkylation is shape-selective for the 4- isomer.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. 4-Ethyltoluene is subjected

dehydrogenation In chemistry, dehydrogenation is a chemical reaction that involves the removal of hydrogen, usually from an organic molecule. It is the reverse of hydrogenation. Dehydrogenation is important, both as a useful reaction and a serious problem. A ...

to give 4-vinyltoluene.

References

{{Hydrocarbons Alkylbenzenes C3-Benzenes