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Caprylic acid

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Caprylic acid is a widely used ingredient in cosmetics, personal care, and skincare formulations. Depending on its function, it may serve as a moisturizer, preservative, emulsifier, or active ingredient to enhance the overall effectiveness and performance of a product.

Caprylic acid (Wikipedia)
Not to be confused with Caproic acid or Capric acid.

Caprylic acid (from Latin capra 'goat'), also known under the systematic name octanoic acid or C8 Acid, is a saturated fatty acid, medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA). It has the structural formula H3C−(CH2)6−COOH, and is a colorless oily liquid that is minimally soluble in water with a slightly unpleasant rancid-like smell and taste. Salts and esters of octanoic acid are known as octanoates or caprylates. The name of the related acyl group is octanoyl, capryloyl, or caprylyl. It is a common industrial chemical, which is produced by oxidation of the C8 aldehyde. Its compounds are found naturally in the milk of various mammals and as a minor constituent of coconut oil and palm kernel oil.

Caprylic acid
Skeletal formula
Skeletal formula
Ball-and-stick model
Ball-and-stick model
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Octanoic acid
Other names
1-Heptanecarboxylic acid
Octylic acid
Octoic acid
C8:0 (lipid numbers)
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
DrugBank
ECHA InfoCard 100.004.253 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 204-677-5
KEGG
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C8H16O2/c1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8(9)10/h2-7H2,1H3,(H,9,10) checkY
    Key: WWZKQHOCKIZLMA-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • InChI=1/C8H16O2/c1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8(9)10/h2-7H2,1H3,(H,9,10)
    Key: WWZKQHOCKIZLMA-UHFFFAOYAH
  • CCCCCCCC(=O)O
Properties
C8H16O2
Molar mass 144.214 g/mol
Appearance Oily colorless liquid
Odor Faint, fruity-acid; irritating
Density 0.910 g/cm3
Melting point 16.7 °C (62.1 °F; 289.8 K)
Boiling point 239.7 °C (463.5 °F; 512.8 K)
0.068 g/100 mL
Solubility Soluble in alcohol, chloroform, ether, CS2, petroleum ether, acetonitrile
log P 3.05
Vapor pressure 0.25 Pa
Acidity (pKa)
  • 4.89
  • 1.055 (2.06–2.63 K)
  • 1.53 (−191 °C)
−101.60·10−6 cm3/mol
1.4285
Thermochemistry
297.9 J/K·mol
−636 kJ/mol
Hazards
GHS labelling:
GHS05: Corrosive
Danger
H314
P264, P280, P301+P330+P331, P303+P361+P353, P304+P340+P310, P305+P351+P338+P310, P363, P405, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704 four-colored diamondHealth 3: Short exposure could cause serious temporary or residual injury. E.g. chlorine gasFlammability 0: Will not burn. E.g. waterInstability 1: Normally stable, but can become unstable at elevated temperatures and pressures. E.g. calciumSpecial hazard COR: Corrosive; strong acid or base. E.g. sulfuric acid, potassium hydroxide
3
0
1
COR
Flash point 130 °C (266 °F; 403 K)
440 °C (824 °F; 713 K)
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
10.08 g/kg (orally in rats)
Related compounds
Related compounds
 Heptanoic acid, nonanoic acid
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
checkY verify (what is checkY☒N ?)

Two other acids are named after goats via the Latin word capra: caproic acid (C6) and capric acid (C10). Together, these three fatty acids comprise 15% of the fatty acids in goat milk fat.

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