Lauric acid
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Lauric 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.
Lauric acid (Wikipedia)
Lauric acid, systematically dodecanoic acid, is a saturated fatty acid with a 12-carbon atom chain, thus having many properties of medium-chain fatty acids. It is a bright white, powdery solid with a faint odor of bay oil or soap. The salts and esters of lauric acid are known as laurates.
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| Names | |
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| Preferred IUPAC name
Dodecanoic acid | |
| Other names
n-Dodecanoic acid, Dodecylic acid, Dodecoic acid,
Laurostearic acid, Vulvic acid, 1-Undecanecarboxylic acid, Duodecylic acid, C12:0 (Lipid numbers)
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| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol)
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| ChEBI | |
| ChEMBL | |
| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.005.075 |
| EC Number |
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| KEGG | |
PubChem CID
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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| Properties | |
| C12H24O2 | |
| Molar mass | 200.322 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | White powder |
| Odor | Slight odor of bay oil |
| Density | 1.007 g/cm3 (24 °C) 0.8744 g/cm3 (41.5 °C) 0.8679 g/cm3 (50 °C) |
| Melting point | 43.8 °C (110.8 °F; 316.9 K) |
| Boiling point | 297.9 °C (568.2 °F; 571.0 K) 282.5 °C (540.5 °F; 555.6 K) at 512 mmHg 225.1 °C (437.2 °F; 498.2 K) at 100 mmHg |
| 37 mg/L (0 °C) 55 mg/L (20 °C) 63 mg/L (30 °C) 72 mg/L (45 °C) 83 mg/L (100 °C) | |
| Solubility | Soluble in alcohols, diethyl ether, phenyls, haloalkanes, acetates |
| Solubility in methanol | 12.7 g/100 g (0 °C) 120 g/100 g (20 °C) 2250 g/100 g (40 °C) |
| Solubility in acetone | 8.95 g/100 g (0 °C) 60.5 g/100 g (20 °C) 1590 g/100 g (40 °C) |
| Solubility in ethyl acetate | 9.4 g/100 g (0 °C) 52 g/100 g (20°C) 1250 g/100 g (40°C) |
| Solubility in toluene | 15.3 g/100 g (0 °C) 97 g/100 g (20°C) 1410 g/100 g (40°C) |
| log P | 4.6 |
| Vapor pressure | 2.13·10−6 kPa (25 °C) 0.42 kPa (150 °C) 6.67 kPa (210 °C) |
| Acidity (pKa) | 5.3 (20 °C) |
| Thermal conductivity | 0.442 W/m·K (solid) 0.1921 W/m·K (72.5 °C) 0.1748 W/m·K (106 °C) |
Refractive index (nD)
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1.423 (70 °C) 1.4183 (82 °C) |
| Viscosity | 6.88 cP (50 °C) 5.37 cP (60 °C) |
| Structure | |
| Monoclinic (α-form) Triclinic, aP228 (γ-form) | |
| P21/a, No. 14 (α-form) P1, No. 2 (γ-form) | |
| 2/m (α-form) 1 (γ-form) | |
a = 9.524 Å, b = 4.965 Å, c = 35.39 Å (α-form) α = 90°, β = 129.22°, γ = 90°
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| Thermochemistry | |
Heat capacity (C)
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404.28 J/mol·K |
Std enthalpy of
formation (ΔfH⦵298) |
−775.6 kJ/mol |
Std enthalpy of
combustion (ΔcH⦵298) |
7377 kJ/mol 7425.8 kJ/mol (292 K) |
| Hazards | |
| GHS labelling: | |
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| Danger | |
| H318 | |
| P280, P305+P351+P338 | |
| NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
| Flash point | > 113 °C (235 °F; 386 K) |
| Related compounds | |
Related compounds
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Glyceryl laurate |
| Related compounds | |
Related compounds
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Undecanoic acid Tridecanoic acid Dodecanol Dodecanal Sodium lauryl sulfate |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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