Alkylated naphthalenes are chemical compounds made by the
alkylation Alkylation is a chemical reaction that entails transfer of an alkyl group. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion, or a carbene (or their equivalents). Alkylating agents are reagents for effecting al ...
of
naphthalene
Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white Crystal, crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 Parts-per notation ...
or its derivatives with an olefin. These compounds are used as synthetic
base oils, and are claimed to have improved oxidative stability over some conventional base oils.
Having an aromatic core, alkylated naphthalenes are better at solvating polar compounds than alkane
mineral oil
Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils.
The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...
s and
polyalphaolefin
A polyolefin is a type of polymer with the general formula (CH2CHR)n where R is an alkyl group. They are usually derived from a small set of simple olefins ( alkenes). Dominant in a commercial sense are polyethylene and polypropylene. More special ...
s.
[
In the context of lubrication, alkylated naphthalenes are considered Group V base oils by the ]American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...
. For 2020, demand for this class of base oil (that includes other types of Group V base oils) was estimated at 823,000 tonnes per year.[{{cite web , url = https://www.kingindustries.com/alkylated-naphthalene/ , title = Alkylated Naphthalene Synthetic Base Stocks & Modifiers , publisher = King Industries , accessdate = 2023-03-29]
References
Lubricants
Naphthalenes