Glycolaldehyde

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  • Identifiers

    CAS number
    141-46-8

    Molecular formula
    C2H4O2

    SMILES
    C(C=O)O

    Safety labels

    Irritant
    Irritant

  • Odor profile

    Fragrance
    Caramellic 45.81%
    Odorless 44.28%
    Ethereal 42.43%
    Pungent 36.62%
    Sharp 36.53%
    Alcoholic 30.12%
    Burnt 28.31%
    Sour 27.89%
    Sweet 27.61%
    Green 26.35%

     

    Flavor
    Pungent 57.0%
    Odorless 36.94%
    Ethereal 32.9%
    Sweet 32.19%
    Vinegar 31.18%
    Sour 28.32%
    Acidic 26.06%
    Musty 26.03%
    Formyl 25.28%
    Sharp 25.1%

     

    Odor impact est.
    High

  • Properties

    XLogP3-AA
    -0.9

    pKa est.
    5.9 (weak acid)

    Molecular weight
    60.05 g/mol

    Vapor pressure est.

    • hPa @ 20°C
    • hPa @ 25°C

    Evaporation rate
    Moderately slow

    Boiling point est.
    220°C

    Melting point expt.

    • 97 °C

    Flash point

    • 78.88 ˚C est.

  • Synonyms

    • glycolaldehyde
    • 2-Hydroxyacetaldehyde
    • hydroxyacetaldehyde
    • 141-46-8
    • Diose
    • Glycolic aldehyde
    • Acetaldehyde, hydroxy-
    • GLYCOALDEHYDE
    • Methylol formaldehyde
    • Monomethylolformaldehyde
    • 2-hydroxyethanal
    • Methylolformaldehyde
    • W0A0XPU08U
    • DTXSID4074693
    • GLYCOLLIC ALDEHYDE
    • NSC-67935
    • CHEBI:17071
    • RefChem:143912
    • DTXCID4034570
    • 205-484-9
    • Glycollaldehyde
    • 2-OH-acetaldehyde
    • NSC 67935
    • Hydroxyethanal
    • CCRIS 2613
    • Acetaldehyde, hydroxy- (9CI)
    • 2-Oxoethanol
    • 2-oxidanylethanal
    • [2-13C]glycolaldehyde
    • BRN 0506029
    • EINECS 205-484-9
    • UNII-W0A0XPU08U
    • glycol aldehyde
    • Hydroxyacetoaldehyde
    • hydroxy-acetaldehyde
    • DW3
    • Glycolaldehyde (8CI)
    • HOCH2CHO
    • primary alpha-hydroxyketone
    • bmse000258
    • GLYCOLALDEHYDE [MI]
    • primary alpha-hydroxyketones
    • primary alpha-hydroxy ketone
    • primary alpha-hydroxy-ketone
    • SCHEMBL4508
    • primary alpha-hydroxy ketones
    • primary alpha-hydroxy-ketones
    • SCHEMBL65061
    • SCHEMBL73703
    • SCHEMBL1388025
    • SCHEMBL1869696
    • SCHEMBL5613933
    • SCHEMBL8949940
    • SCHEMBL9033297
    • SCHEMBL9713300
    • CHEMBL3884509
    • CHEBI:139590
    • NSC67935
    • AKOS010078724
    • NS00021010
    • EN300-91724
    • C00266
    • A902395
    • Q899877
    • 141-46-8

  • Applications

    Glycolaldehyde (CAS 141-46-8) is primarily used as a chemical intermediate for carbohydrate chemistry, serving as a building block in aldol reactions to access higher-sugar derivatives and other carbonyl-containing compounds; it also functions as a precursor in polymer and resin syntheses, for example in acetals formation or other functional linkages relevant to specialty plastics; in pharmaceutical research and medicinal chemistry it is employed as a versatile starting material to access sugar-derived intermediates and related frameworks; in fragrance/flavor development, the aldehyde functionality provides a reactive handle for library synthesis and perfumery exploration; overall, its use is typically limited to R&D settings and subject to local regulations and formulation limits.

    gpt-5-nano

  • Solubility @25˚C

    Solvent Solubility (g/L)
    ethanol 181.73
    methanol 638.11
    isopropanol 58.45
    water 1875.7
    ethyl acetate 13.8
    n-propanol 75.64
    acetone 70.8
    n-butanol 47.58
    acetonitrile 67.44
    DMF 703.84
    toluene 1.38
    isobutanol 34.18
    1,4-dioxane 37.42
    methyl acetate 25.94
    THF 36.38
    2-butanone 24.07
    n-pentanol 27.02
    sec-butanol 30.81
    n-hexane 0.78
    ethylene glycol 398.23
    NMP 294.08
    cyclohexane 1.93
    DMSO 796.32
    n-butyl acetate 12.96
    n-octanol 9.92
    chloroform 10.07
    n-propyl acetate 12.28
    acetic acid 618.73
    dichloromethane 22.56
    cyclohexanone 37.76
    propylene glycol 159.1
    isopropyl acetate 6.48
    DMAc 299.79
    2-ethoxyethanol 128.82
    isopentanol 26.32
    n-heptane 1.75
    ethyl formate 57.41
    1,2-dichloroethane 17.83
    n-hexanol 16.45
    2-methoxyethanol 304.59
    isobutyl acetate 4.97
    tetrachloromethane 2.62
    n-pentyl acetate 7.82
    transcutol 172.61
    n-heptanol 9.21
    ethylbenzene 1.34
    MIBK 6.73
    2-propoxyethanol 63.07
    tert-butanol 42.45
    MTBE 7.61
    2-butoxyethanol 38.57
    propionic acid 142.77
    o-xylene 2.46
    formic acid 1414.58
    diethyl ether 7.92
    m-xylene 1.44
    p-xylene 1.99
    chlorobenzene 3.93
    dimethyl carbonate 19.11
    n-octane 0.7
    formamide 1147.58
    cyclopentanone 45.75
    2-pentanone 13.81
    anisole 7.88
    cyclopentyl methyl ether 9.82
    gamma-butyrolactone 74.19
    1-methoxy-2-propanol 101.89
    pyridine 27.96
    3-pentanone 10.65
    furfural 141.47
    n-dodecane 0.62
    diethylene glycol 159.52
    diisopropyl ether 1.91
    tert-amyl alcohol 28.24
    acetylacetone 21.66
    n-hexadecane 0.62
    acetophenone 13.97
    methyl propionate 20.65
    isopentyl acetate 9.03
    trichloroethylene 23.29
    n-nonanol 8.0
    cyclohexanol 25.43
    benzyl alcohol 21.17
    2-ethylhexanol 8.04
    isooctanol 7.18
    dipropyl ether 8.25
    1,2-dichlorobenzene 5.54
    ethyl lactate 23.53
    propylene carbonate 32.77
    n-methylformamide 473.07
    2-pentanol 15.19
    n-pentane 1.22
    1-propoxy-2-propanol 37.16
    1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate 15.16
    2-(2-methoxypropoxy) propanol 39.81
    mesitylene 1.41
    ε-caprolactone 38.53
    p-cymene 2.69
    epichlorohydrin 45.93
    1,1,1-trichloroethane 3.97
    2-aminoethanol 317.91
    morpholine-4-carbaldehyde 253.37
    sulfolane 154.65
    2,2,4-trimethylpentane 0.74
    2-methyltetrahydrofuran 16.89
    n-hexyl acetate 10.11
    isooctane 0.43
    2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol 55.12
    sec-butyl acetate 4.64
    tert-butyl acetate 6.39
    decalin 0.71
    glycerin 327.68
    diglyme 106.56
    acrylic acid 234.08
    isopropyl myristate 4.02
    n-butyric acid 86.66
    acetyl acetate 11.81
    di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 9.26
    ethyl propionate 8.95
    nitromethane 501.98
    1,2-diethoxyethane 18.01
    benzonitrile 17.25
    trioctyl phosphate 6.94
    1-bromopropane 4.6
    gamma-valerolactone 118.58
    n-decanol 6.11
    triethyl phosphate 8.93
    4-methyl-2-pentanol 6.82
    propionitrile 26.8
    vinylene carbonate 49.43
    1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane 113.67
    DMS 12.12
    cumene 1.49
    2-octanol 5.03
    2-hexanone 10.26
    octyl acetate 6.57
    limonene 4.32
    1,2-dimethoxyethane 98.45
    ethyl orthosilicate 7.66
    tributyl phosphate 8.63
    diacetone alcohol 25.07
    N,N-dimethylaniline 9.78
    acrylonitrile 70.39
    aniline 12.87
    1,3-propanediol 237.81
    bromobenzene 2.05
    dibromomethane 10.06
    1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane 16.32
    2-methyl-cyclohexyl acetate 8.68
    tetrabutyl urea 17.27
    diisobutyl methanol 5.46
    2-phenylethanol 14.3
    styrene 2.0
    dioctyl adipate 10.95
    dimethyl sulfate 51.79
    ethyl butyrate 12.02
    methyl lactate 52.11
    butyl lactate 18.98
    diethyl carbonate 9.49
    propanediol butyl ether 53.68
    triethyl orthoformate 10.54
    p-tert-butyltoluene 2.37
    methyl 4-tert-butylbenzoate 16.78
    morpholine 70.59
    tert-butylamine 16.72
    n-dodecanol 4.95
    dimethoxymethane 68.32
    ethylene carbonate 31.81
    cyrene 46.46
    2-ethoxyethyl acetate 13.95
    2-ethylhexyl acetate 6.22
    1,2,4-trichlorobenzene 7.08
    4-methylpyridine 18.96
    dibutyl ether 5.95
    2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanol 5.46
    DEF 64.48
    dimethyl isosorbide 43.52
    tetrachloroethylene 17.12
    eugenol 27.21
    triacetin 20.52
    span 80 33.81
    1,4-butanediol 106.32
    1,1-dichloroethane 6.23
    2-methyl-1-pentanol 17.07
    methyl formate 237.64
    2-methyl-1-butanol 27.76
    n-decane 0.83
    butyronitrile 23.3
    3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol 8.32
    1-chlorooctane 2.26
    1-chlorotetradecane 1.23
    n-nonane 0.82
    undecane 0.69
    tert-butylcyclohexane 0.61
    cyclooctane 0.64
    cyclopentanol 33.97
    tetrahydropyran 14.95
    tert-amyl methyl ether 6.8
    2,5,8-trioxanonane 79.24
    1-hexene 2.25
    2-isopropoxyethanol 45.58
    2,2,2-trifluoroethanol 272.27
    methyl butyrate 19.14

    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