Phytane

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  • Identifiers

    CAS number
    638-36-8

    Molecular formula
    C20H42

    SMILES
    CCC(C)CCCC(C)CCCC(C)CCCC(C)C

    Safety labels

  • Odor profile

    Fragrance
    Waxy 67.73%
    Oily 44.43%
    Green 35.06%
    Fresh 30.18%
    Herbal 29.12%
    Balsamic 28.72%
    Woody 27.7%
    Floral 27.09%
    Sweet 26.87%
    Fatty 26.06%

     

    Flavor
    Alkane 30.27%
    Waxy 25.85%
    Delicate 23.17%
    Bland 20.63%
    Leathery 20.13%
    Slightly waxy 19.87%
    Yeasty 19.82%
    Skunky 19.72%
    Oriental 19.68%
    Diterpene 19.43%

     

    Odor impact est.
    Low

  • Properties

    XLogP3-AA
    9.9

    pKa est.
    8.83 (weak base)

    Molecular weight
    282.5 g/mol

    Vapor pressure est.

    • hPa @ 20°C
    • hPa @ 25°C

    Evaporation rate
    Ultra slow

    Boiling point

    • BP: 69-71 °C at 0.001 mm Hg

    Flash point

    • 143.2 ˚C est.

  • Synonyms

    • Phytane
    • 638-36-8
    • 2,6,10,14-TETRAMETHYLHEXADECANE
    • 27UZX1Q8TR
    • CHEBI:48937
    • DTXSID70862339
    • RefChem:174093
    • DTXCID70811120
    • 211-332-2
    • Phytan
    • 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-hexadecane
    • Hexadecane, 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-
    • Phytane 10 microg/mL in Isooctane
    • Hexadecane, 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-; Phytane (6CI); 2,6,10,14-Tetramethylhexadecane; Phytan; Tetrahydroneophytadiene
    • EINECS 211-332-2
    • Hexadecane,2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-
    • UNII-27UZX1Q8TR
    • Phytane, analytical standard
    • TETRAHYDRONEOPHYTADIENE
    • SCHEMBL100561
    • SCHEMBL149808
    • SCHEMBL10499649
    • SCHEMBL10828890
    • HSDB 8346
    • MFCD00060946
    • HY-W716889
    • LMPR0104010019
    • AS-87669
    • DB-244748
    • NS00042109
    • G77747
    • Q171701
    • Phytane

  • Applications

    Phytane (CAS 638-36-8) is a saturated C20 hydrocarbon widely used in petroleum geochemistry as a biomarker to assess thermal maturity and the depositional environment of oils and source rocks. In analytical laboratories it is commonly used as a reference compound or internal standard for gas chromatography and hydrocarbon profiling, aiding interpretation of n-alkane and isoprenoid patterns. It also serves as a diagnostic component for maturity indices such as the pristane/phytane ratio. Any use should comply with local regulations and formulation limits.

    gpt-5-nano

  • Solubility @25˚C

    Solvent Solubility (g/L)
    ethanol 333.97
    methanol 76.12
    isopropanol 500.05
    water 0.0
    ethyl acetate 2554.11
    n-propanol 527.99
    acetone 1028.98
    n-butanol 910.65
    acetonitrile 201.48
    DMF 354.71
    toluene 1884.06
    isobutanol 587.03
    1,4-dioxane 2918.88
    methyl acetate 889.91
    THF 6132.07
    2-butanone 1628.02
    n-pentanol 724.84
    sec-butanol 865.78
    n-hexane 3520.07
    ethylene glycol 4.96
    NMP 864.85
    cyclohexane 6622.13
    DMSO 452.17
    n-butyl acetate 6272.31
    n-octanol 990.96
    chloroform 2459.19
    n-propyl acetate 2360.58
    acetic acid 140.44
    dichloromethane 2147.45
    cyclohexanone 3450.54
    propylene glycol 27.13
    isopropyl acetate 2733.01
    DMAc 724.9
    2-ethoxyethanol 534.58
    isopentanol 1209.19
    n-heptane 7185.49
    ethyl formate 424.91
    1,2-dichloroethane 1855.0
    n-hexanol 1668.54
    2-methoxyethanol 421.33
    isobutyl acetate 2098.78
    tetrachloromethane 989.69
    n-pentyl acetate 2819.13
    transcutol 3964.92
    n-heptanol 1006.15
    ethylbenzene 1301.59
    MIBK 2230.41
    2-propoxyethanol 1368.3
    tert-butanol 1314.8
    MTBE 5173.2
    2-butoxyethanol 1081.89
    propionic acid 231.28
    o-xylene 1258.05
    formic acid 6.85
    diethyl ether 4769.56
    m-xylene 1334.48
    p-xylene 1680.24
    chlorobenzene 1238.88
    dimethyl carbonate 189.76
    n-octane 1479.49
    formamide 15.72
    cyclopentanone 2306.34
    2-pentanone 2324.38
    anisole 1379.06
    cyclopentyl methyl ether 4908.4
    gamma-butyrolactone 1430.68
    1-methoxy-2-propanol 639.36
    pyridine 1579.15
    3-pentanone 1874.48
    furfural 714.0
    n-dodecane 487.92
    diethylene glycol 201.03
    diisopropyl ether 3501.34
    tert-amyl alcohol 1542.12
    acetylacetone 1674.45
    n-hexadecane 604.39
    acetophenone 1055.48
    methyl propionate 1017.92
    isopentyl acetate 6417.15
    trichloroethylene 2142.13
    n-nonanol 1099.0
    cyclohexanol 1786.47
    benzyl alcohol 419.95
    2-ethylhexanol 2995.15
    isooctanol 1281.5
    dipropyl ether 10723.93
    1,2-dichlorobenzene 1166.03
    ethyl lactate 333.31
    propylene carbonate 1079.89
    n-methylformamide 87.14
    2-pentanol 1163.23
    n-pentane 2047.84
    1-propoxy-2-propanol 2297.74
    1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate 3261.6
    2-(2-methoxypropoxy) propanol 1116.66
    mesitylene 1252.45
    ε-caprolactone 2739.01
    p-cymene 1919.79
    epichlorohydrin 2057.58
    1,1,1-trichloroethane 2990.32
    2-aminoethanol 33.99
    morpholine-4-carbaldehyde 976.66
    sulfolane 1468.3
    2,2,4-trimethylpentane 1105.68
    2-methyltetrahydrofuran 6134.42
    n-hexyl acetate 2922.38
    isooctane 1014.08
    2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol 1508.15
    sec-butyl acetate 2715.92
    tert-butyl acetate 4201.47
    decalin 1935.11
    glycerin 33.31
    diglyme 3529.91
    acrylic acid 82.27
    isopropyl myristate 1802.2
    n-butyric acid 1028.81
    acetyl acetate 1128.24
    di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 579.24
    ethyl propionate 2108.13
    nitromethane 251.41
    1,2-diethoxyethane 5795.47
    benzonitrile 605.34
    trioctyl phosphate 615.3
    1-bromopropane 3129.29
    gamma-valerolactone 1957.64
    n-decanol 803.02
    triethyl phosphate 1580.53
    4-methyl-2-pentanol 1010.1
    propionitrile 432.57
    vinylene carbonate 565.12
    1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane 589.03
    DMS 837.68
    cumene 1020.78
    2-octanol 999.14
    2-hexanone 2384.24
    octyl acetate 1582.94
    limonene 4121.71
    1,2-dimethoxyethane 2347.45
    ethyl orthosilicate 2057.54
    tributyl phosphate 811.77
    diacetone alcohol 1646.5
    N,N-dimethylaniline 1127.67
    acrylonitrile 210.23
    aniline 791.07
    1,3-propanediol 148.39
    bromobenzene 1705.06
    dibromomethane 2120.75
    1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane 2385.49
    2-methyl-cyclohexyl acetate 3325.32
    tetrabutyl urea 1075.05
    diisobutyl methanol 2640.7
    2-phenylethanol 855.17
    styrene 1262.42
    dioctyl adipate 1632.52
    dimethyl sulfate 257.46
    ethyl butyrate 5803.25
    methyl lactate 171.54
    butyl lactate 946.27
    diethyl carbonate 2449.21
    propanediol butyl ether 437.16
    triethyl orthoformate 4699.57
    p-tert-butyltoluene 1992.47
    methyl 4-tert-butylbenzoate 1312.59
    morpholine 3003.79
    tert-butylamine 1570.79
    n-dodecanol 653.07
    dimethoxymethane 791.91
    ethylene carbonate 760.1
    cyrene 534.41
    2-ethoxyethyl acetate 2244.32
    2-ethylhexyl acetate 6126.79
    1,2,4-trichlorobenzene 1190.97
    4-methylpyridine 1840.98
    dibutyl ether 6402.52
    2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanol 2640.7
    DEF 1806.46
    dimethyl isosorbide 2136.44
    tetrachloroethylene 1335.18
    eugenol 681.26
    triacetin 1498.99
    span 80 1063.88
    1,4-butanediol 53.34
    1,1-dichloroethane 2037.15
    2-methyl-1-pentanol 1066.72
    methyl formate 70.83
    2-methyl-1-butanol 1037.88
    n-decane 1200.65
    butyronitrile 1006.46
    3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol 1679.58
    1-chlorooctane 2280.17
    1-chlorotetradecane 784.59
    n-nonane 1378.09
    undecane 702.03
    tert-butylcyclohexane 1709.81
    cyclooctane 2799.3
    cyclopentanol 1025.33
    tetrahydropyran 7285.1
    tert-amyl methyl ether 3771.06
    2,5,8-trioxanonane 1815.68
    1-hexene 3922.1
    2-isopropoxyethanol 704.09
    2,2,2-trifluoroethanol 37.38
    methyl butyrate 2316.96

    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