2-Methyloctanoic acid

Overview IFRA Request a quote

  • Identifiers

    CAS number
    3004-93-1

    Molecular formula
    C9H18O2

    SMILES
    CCCCCCC(C)C(=O)O

    Safety labels

    Corrosive
    Corrosive

  • Odor profile

    Fragrance
    Fatty 83.06%
    Cheesy 72.98%
    Waxy 67.42%
    Dairy 58.92%
    Oily 55.82%
    Sour 50.9%
    Green 48.15%
    Creamy 48.13%
    Milky 46.76%
    Sweaty 45.06%

     

    Flavor
    Waxy 57.35%
    Fatty 56.5%
    Green 52.78%
    Cheese 52.49%
    Oily 46.9%
    Fruity 43.14%
    Sour 32.1%
    Rancid 31.33%
    Fat 31.19%
    Creamy 30.48%

     

    Odor impact est.
    Medium

  • Properties

    XLogP3-AA
    3.4

    pKa est.
    8.3 (weak base)

    Molecular weight
    158.24 g/mol

    Vapor pressure est.

    • hPa @ 20°C
    • hPa @ 25°C

    Evaporation rate
    Very slow

    Boiling point est.
    245°C

    Flash point

    • 110.27 ˚C est.

  • Synonyms

    • 2-Methyloctanoic acid
    • 3004-93-1
    • Octanoic acid, 2-methyl-
    • 2-methyl-octanoic acid
    • 2-methyl octanoic acid
    • J9RJN5ZZ0S
    • Caprylic acid, alpha-methyl-
    • EINECS 221-104-4
    • NSC 33927
    • NSC-33927
    • (+/-)-2-methyloctanoic acid
    • Caprylic acid, .alpha.-methyl-
    • DTXSID80863074
    • .ALPHA.-METHYLCAPRYLIC ACID
    • 2-Methyloctanoicacid
    • 2-Methyloctanoic acid #
    • UNII-J9RJN5ZZ0S
    • (+)-2-methyloctanoic acid
    • (+)-2 -methyloctanoic acid
    • (+)-2-methyl octanoic acid
    • SCHEMBL301103
    • ALPHA-METHYLCAPRYLIC ACID
    • DTXCID60811750
    • CHEBI:179886
    • DAA00493
    • NSC33927
    • LMFA01020088
    • MFCD00195640
    • AKOS010363356
    • BS-25276
    • DB-021390
    • CS-0180940
    • NS00047480
    • EN300-88356
    • E78344
    • Z756390482
    • 221-104-4

  • Applications

    2-Methyloctanoic acid is commonly used as an intermediate in the synthesis of fragrance esters and other aroma compounds, supporting branched scent ingredients for perfumery. It can serve as a building block for cosmetic and personal care formulations when converted to ester derivatives. In industrial manufacturing, it functions as a fatty-acid starting material for esterification, enabling plasticizers, lubricants, and specialty surfactants. It may also act as a precursor in coatings and inks formulations as a carboxylic acid building block. These roles are typical where regulatory limits and formulation requirements apply.

    gpt-5-nano

  • Solubility @25˚C

    Solvent Solubility (g/L)
    ethanol 4232.74
    methanol 5246.49
    isopropanol 4063.37
    water 0.64
    ethyl acetate 2498.73
    n-propanol 3093.36
    acetone 3927.69
    n-butanol 2551.47
    acetonitrile 1422.67
    DMF 3325.43
    toluene 390.87
    isobutanol 2579.64
    1,4-dioxane 2438.65
    methyl acetate 1486.99
    THF 3976.21
    2-butanone 2317.51
    n-pentanol 2100.24
    sec-butanol 2719.59
    n-hexane 656.02
    ethylene glycol 458.53
    NMP 2258.81
    cyclohexane 296.29
    DMSO 3604.56
    n-butyl acetate 2338.58
    n-octanol 684.89
    chloroform 1602.5
    n-propyl acetate 1762.07
    acetic acid 1791.88
    dichloromethane 1326.43
    cyclohexanone 2827.76
    propylene glycol 858.5
    isopropyl acetate 1872.69
    DMAc 1599.76
    2-ethoxyethanol 1955.6
    isopentanol 2686.89
    n-heptane 134.83
    ethyl formate 1165.79
    1,2-dichloroethane 1499.49
    n-hexanol 2204.47
    2-methoxyethanol 3155.41
    isobutyl acetate 1099.53
    tetrachloromethane 362.46
    n-pentyl acetate 1042.73
    transcutol 4940.96
    n-heptanol 819.17
    ethylbenzene 330.94
    MIBK 1586.82
    2-propoxyethanol 2621.91
    tert-butanol 5294.86
    MTBE 3751.06
    2-butoxyethanol 1357.3
    propionic acid 1595.0
    o-xylene 337.75
    formic acid 592.16
    diethyl ether 2199.2
    m-xylene 412.46
    p-xylene 443.31
    chlorobenzene 623.92
    dimethyl carbonate 316.03
    n-octane 60.18
    formamide 955.53
    cyclopentanone 3100.32
    2-pentanone 2406.27
    anisole 701.46
    cyclopentyl methyl ether 2234.32
    gamma-butyrolactone 2923.97
    1-methoxy-2-propanol 2746.48
    pyridine 1359.21
    3-pentanone 1191.16
    furfural 1622.81
    n-dodecane 36.21
    diethylene glycol 1356.97
    diisopropyl ether 901.58
    tert-amyl alcohol 3642.19
    acetylacetone 1811.09
    n-hexadecane 41.94
    acetophenone 637.48
    methyl propionate 1394.73
    isopentyl acetate 2023.96
    trichloroethylene 2115.2
    n-nonanol 560.97
    cyclohexanol 1913.88
    benzyl alcohol 662.84
    2-ethylhexanol 1202.98
    isooctanol 741.57
    dipropyl ether 1127.77
    1,2-dichlorobenzene 612.3
    ethyl lactate 477.8
    propylene carbonate 1362.8
    n-methylformamide 1917.69
    2-pentanol 2049.75
    n-pentane 255.28
    1-propoxy-2-propanol 2064.21
    1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate 1619.21
    2-(2-methoxypropoxy) propanol 853.95
    mesitylene 312.78
    ε-caprolactone 2175.25
    p-cymene 227.92
    epichlorohydrin 2624.17
    1,1,1-trichloroethane 1318.09
    2-aminoethanol 1463.29
    morpholine-4-carbaldehyde 2001.7
    sulfolane 3062.52
    2,2,4-trimethylpentane 159.17
    2-methyltetrahydrofuran 3478.15
    n-hexyl acetate 1261.34
    isooctane 155.37
    2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol 1460.33
    sec-butyl acetate 1245.62
    tert-butyl acetate 2005.64
    decalin 173.54
    glycerin 864.6
    diglyme 2188.61
    acrylic acid 987.17
    isopropyl myristate 378.94
    n-butyric acid 2930.74
    acetyl acetate 839.62
    di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 341.23
    ethyl propionate 1167.62
    nitromethane 2461.37
    1,2-diethoxyethane 1835.71
    benzonitrile 789.55
    trioctyl phosphate 292.32
    1-bromopropane 963.65
    gamma-valerolactone 3105.36
    n-decanol 398.61
    triethyl phosphate 305.76
    4-methyl-2-pentanol 1208.6
    propionitrile 1395.18
    vinylene carbonate 1037.32
    1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane 1514.61
    DMS 598.55
    cumene 274.93
    2-octanol 613.31
    2-hexanone 1921.79
    octyl acetate 483.87
    limonene 433.91
    1,2-dimethoxyethane 2823.97
    ethyl orthosilicate 349.46
    tributyl phosphate 389.66
    diacetone alcohol 1980.22
    N,N-dimethylaniline 507.0
    acrylonitrile 1236.29
    aniline 790.11
    1,3-propanediol 1953.49
    bromobenzene 568.58
    dibromomethane 1051.71
    1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane 2056.68
    2-methyl-cyclohexyl acetate 729.31
    tetrabutyl urea 435.2
    diisobutyl methanol 627.14
    2-phenylethanol 797.26
    styrene 401.91
    dioctyl adipate 502.0
    dimethyl sulfate 536.42
    ethyl butyrate 1121.62
    methyl lactate 583.97
    butyl lactate 771.99
    diethyl carbonate 506.75
    propanediol butyl ether 1249.08
    triethyl orthoformate 652.45
    p-tert-butyltoluene 244.34
    methyl 4-tert-butylbenzoate 612.34
    morpholine 3560.88
    tert-butylamine 3329.33
    n-dodecanol 283.64
    dimethoxymethane 1629.64
    ethylene carbonate 954.44
    cyrene 641.15
    2-ethoxyethyl acetate 1168.41
    2-ethylhexyl acetate 1401.12
    1,2,4-trichlorobenzene 672.57
    4-methylpyridine 1523.9
    dibutyl ether 863.56
    2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanol 627.14
    DEF 2290.1
    dimethyl isosorbide 1260.09
    tetrachloroethylene 1452.43
    eugenol 647.52
    triacetin 726.4
    span 80 885.02
    1,4-butanediol 851.46
    1,1-dichloroethane 1630.39
    2-methyl-1-pentanol 1859.27
    methyl formate 957.58
    2-methyl-1-butanol 2172.22
    n-decane 70.73
    butyronitrile 1796.04
    3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol 807.71
    1-chlorooctane 368.34
    1-chlorotetradecane 111.62
    n-nonane 74.18
    undecane 49.25
    tert-butylcyclohexane 219.59
    cyclooctane 86.94
    cyclopentanol 2166.82
    tetrahydropyran 3248.75
    tert-amyl methyl ether 2023.72
    2,5,8-trioxanonane 1225.59
    1-hexene 1654.24
    2-isopropoxyethanol 1609.26
    2,2,2-trifluoroethanol 427.21
    methyl butyrate 1849.31

    Scent© AI

1 4

IFRA standard 51

Recommendation
No restriction
Maximum acceptable concentrations in the finished product (%)
Category 1
Products applied to the lips
 No restriction Category 7A
Rinse-off products applied to the hair with some hand contact
 No restriction
Category 2
Products applied to the axillae
 No restriction Category 7B
Leave-on products applied to the hair with some hand contact
 No restriction
Category 3
Products applied to the face/body using fingertips
 No restriction Category 8
Products with significant anogenital exposure
 No restriction
Category 4
Products related to fine fragrance
 No restriction Category 9
Products with body and hand exposure, primarily rinse off
 No restriction
Category 5A
Body lotion products applied to the body using the hands (palms), primarily leave on
 No restriction Category 10A
Household care products with mostly hand contact
 No restriction
Category 5B
Face moisturizer products applied to the face using the hands (palms), primarily leave on
 No restriction Category 10B
Household care products with mostly hand contact, including aerosol/spray products (with potential leave-on skin contact)
 No restriction
Category 5C
Hand cream products applied to the hands using the hands (palms), primarily leave on
 No restriction Category 11A
Products with intended skin contact but minimal transfer of fragrance to skin from inert substrate without UV exposure
 No restriction
Category 5D
Baby Creams, baby Oils and baby talc
 No restriction Category 11B
Products with intended skin contact but minimal transfer of fragrance to skin from inert substrate with potential UV exposure
 No restriction
Category 6
Products with oral and lip exposure
 No restriction Category 12
Products not intended for direct skin contact, minimal or insignificant transfer to skin
 No restriction