Benzyl alcohol (CAS#100‑51‑6), also named phenylmethanol, is a typical aromatic alcohol with extensive industrial application value. In its pure state, it is a colorless transparent liquid featuring a soft, pleasant hyacinth‑like aroma. For industrial‑grade products, trace impurities may bring a slight bitter‑almond or sharp odour. It is widely adopted for perfume and cosmetic manufacturing, and also serves as an efficient solvent for pharmaceuticals, paints and varnishes.
Furthermore, thanks to its inherent antimicrobial activity, benzyl alcohol functions as an effective preservative in numerous skin‑care and cosmetic formulations. Benefiting from low toxicity and mild antiseptic performance, it is a multi‑purpose ingredient suitable for personal‑care products as well as medical scenarios such as injectable preparations. Beyond that, benzyl alcohol can be applied in the food sector as a flavoring substance, and also participates in the manufacturing of specific resins and plastics.
Parameters
| Melting point | -15 °C |
| Boiling point | 205 °C |
| density | 1.045 g/mL at 25 °C(lit.) |
| vapor density | 3.7 (vs air) |
| vapor pressure | 13.3 mm Hg ( 100 °C) |
| refractive index | n20/D 1.539(lit.) |
| FEMA | 2137 | BENZYL ALCOHOL |
| Fp | 201 °F |
| storage temp. | Store at +2°C to +25°C. |
| solubility | H2O: 33 mg/mL, clear, colorless |
| pka | 14.36±0.10(Predicted) |
| form | Liquid |
| color | APHA: ≤20 |
| Relative polarity | 0.608 |
| Odor | Mild, pleasant. |
| Odor Type | floral |
| biological source | synthetic |
| explosive limit | 1.3-13%(V) |
| Water Solubility | 4.29 g/100 mL (20 ºC) |
| Merck | 14,1124 |
| JECFA Number | 25 |
| BRN | 878307 |
| Henry's Law Constant | <2.70 x 10-7 at 25 °C (thermodynamic method-GC/UV, Altschuh et al., 1999) |
| Exposure limits | No exposure limit is set. Because of its low vapor pressure and low toxicity, the health hazard to humans from occupational exposure should be very low. |
| Dielectric constant | 13.1（20℃） |
| InChIKey | WVDDGKGOMKODPV-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
| LogP | 1.05 at 20℃ |
| Surface tension | 39.2mN/m at 293.15K |
| CAS DataBase Reference | 100-51-6(CAS DataBase Reference) |
| NIST Chemistry Reference | Benzyl alcohol(100-51-6) |
| EPA Substance Registry System | Benzyl alcohol (100-51-6) |
Safety Information
| Hazard Codes | Xn,T |
| Risk Statements | 20/22-63-43-36/37/38-23/24/25-45-40 |
| Safety Statements | 26-36/37-24/25-23-53 |
| RIDADR | UN 1593 6.1/PG 3 |
| WGK Germany | 1 |
| RTECS | DN3150000 |
| F | 8-10-23-35 |
| Autoignition Temperature | 817 °F |
| TSCA | Yes |
| HS Code | 29062100 |
| Hazardous Substances Data | 100-51-6(Hazardous Substances Data) |
| Toxicity | LD50 orally in rats: 3.1 g/kg (Smyth) |
