What is Benzyl Alcohol (Aromatic Alcohol)?

Benzyl alcohol is also known as Aromatic Alcohol with the chemical formula C6H5CH2OH. The IUPAC name of this compound is phenyl methanol. At room temperature, benzyl alcohol exists as a colourless liquid that has a mildly aromatic smell. When this aromatic alcohol is deprotonated, the resulting anion is called a benzylate.

This compound is not very soluble in water. However, it forms miscible mixtures with diethyl ether and other alcohols. Many plants are known to naturally produce C6H5CH2OH. The essential oils extracted from jasmine, ylang-ylang, and hyacinth contain some amount of benzyl alcohol.

Properties of  Benzyl Alcohol-C6H5CH2OH

Chemical Data

Physical Properties

Under standard conditions, benzyl alcohol is a colourless, slightly aromatic liquid.

Its solubility in water corresponds to 3.5g/100mL at 20oC and 4.29g/100mL at 25o

This compound is soluble in several organic solvents such as benzene, methanol, acetone, and ether.

Chemical Properties

The reaction between carboxylic acids and benzyl alcohol leads to the formation of esters.

This compound undergoes a Ritter reaction with acrylonitrile to yield N-benzyl acrylamide.

When deprotonated, C6H5CH2OH yields a benzylate anion.

Preparation of Benzyl Alcohol

The use of sodium hydroxide in the hydrolysis of benzyl chloride yields benzyl alcohol and sodium chloride as the products. The chemical equation for this reaction is given by:

NaOH + C6H5CH2Cl → NaCl + C6H5CH2OH

An alternate method of preparing this compound involves the Grignard reaction between formaldehyde (H-CHO) and phenylmagnesium bromide (Ph-Mg-Br).

What are the Uses of Benzyl Alcohol?

This compound is widely used as a solvent for epoxy resin coatings, inks, and paints. Some other applications of benzyl alcohol are listed below.

C6H5CH2OH is a precursor to several esters.

A solution of benzyl alcohol with a concentration of 10% can be used as a local anaesthetic and also as an antimicrobial agent.

This compound is a component of the fluid mixtures used in electronic cigarettes (it enhances the flavour).

Benzyl alcohol can serve as a dielectric solvent for the reconfiguration of some nanowires via dielectrophoresis.

5% solutions of this compound can be used to treat head lice.

Cosmetic grade benzyl alcohol  is used in the manufacture of soaps, shampoos, and skin lotions because of its antifungal and antibacterial properties.