Parachlorobenzotrifluoride is a synthetic halogenated

organic chemical compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon chemical bond, bonds. Due to carbon's ability to Catenation, catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic c ...

with the

molecular formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

C₇H₄ClF₃. It is frequently abbreviated PCBTF. Parachlorobenzotrifluoride is a colorless liquid with a distinct aromatic odor. PCBTF has been commercially-produced since the 1960s, initially as an intermediate in the production of other

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

. But since the 1990s, it has been primarily used as a

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

History

Occidental Chemical Corporation was a leading producer and sold it as part of its Oxsol® product line, specifically under the brand name of Oxsol 100.MSDS provided by Islechem
/ref> Occidental Chemical Corporation sold the OXSOL line to an Israeli company, Makhteshim Agan Industries, Ltd., in 2002.

Uses

PCBTF is increasingly used as a

xylene In organic chemistry, xylene or xylol (; IUPAC name: dimethylbenzene) are any of three organic compounds with the formula . They are derived from the substitution of two hydrogen atoms with methyl groups in a benzene ring; which hydrogens are sub ...

replacement in cleaners, thinners, and other aromatic hydrocarbon blends. PCBTF is used as a component (5-12%) of low

volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a ...

(VOC) compliant polyurethane finishes. The substance is used as an ink solvent in the

printing industry Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

. Parachlorobenzotrifluoride has a high capacity for dissolving many inks used by the printing industry. In most cases, up to 22 grams of ink can be dissolved in 20 grams of PCBTF. An added benefit is that parachlorobenzotrifluoride dissolves most inks faster than

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) at ...

Health and Environmental effects

Health effects: * Points of entry: eyes, ingestion, inhalation, skin. * Target organs: central nervous system, kidneys, liver. * Irritancy: eyes, respiratory tract, skin In the

troposphere The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...

, PCBTF has an estimated

half-life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...

of 67 days. It is transformed by reaction with photochemically-produced

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

radicals to give mainly 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylphenol.

Regulation

PCBTF currently has VOC Exempt status from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has adopted inhalation risk factors for PCBTF as of June 2019, which could have implications for its ongoing VOC Exempt status.p-Chloro-α,α,α-trifluorotoluene (p-Chlorobenzotrifluoride, PCBTF) - Cancer Inhalation Unit Risk Factor Scientific Review Panel Draft - January 2020 - California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
/ref>

References

{{Reflist Halogenated solvents Chloroarenes Trifluoromethyl compounds