| Chemical Properties | White crystalline |
| Uses | Terphenyl mixtures are used industrially as heat storage and transfer agents, as textile dye carriers, and as intermediates in the production of nonspreading lubricants. Contemporary use of o-Terphenyl is found in solar-heating systems. It is used as a plasticizer for polystyrene for thermoplastic recording. |
| Uses | Terphenyl mixtures are used industrially as heat storage and transfer agents, as textile dye carriers, and as intermediates in the production of nonspreading lubricants. Contemporary use of o-Terphenyl is found in solar-heating systems. It is used as a plasticizer for polystyrene for thermoplastic recording. |
| General Description | Colorless or light-yellow solid. Mp 58-59°C; bp: 337°C. Density: 1.16 g cm-3. Insoluble in water. Usually shipped as a solid mixture with its isomers m-terphenyl and p-terphenyl that is used as a heat-transfer fluid. |
| Reactivity Profile | O-TERPHENYL is non-flammable but combustible (flash point 339°F). Extremely stable thermally. Incompatible with strong oxidizing agents but not very reactive at room conditions. |
| Hazard | Combustible. Eye and upper respiratory tract irritant. |
| Safety Profile | Moderately toxic by ingestion. Combustible when exposed to heat or flame. To fight fire, use water, CO2, dry chemical. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes. |
| Purification Methods | Crystallise o-terphenyl from EtOH. Also purify it by chromatography of CCl4 solution on alumina, with pet ether as eluent, followed by crystallisation from pet ether (b 40-60o) or pet ether/*C6H6. It also distils under vacuum. [Beilstein 5 III 2292, 5 IV 2478.] |
