Cyclododecane is an

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

with the

chemical 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, ...

(CH₂)₁₂. It is a waxy white solid at room temperature, and is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents. It is an intermediate of Nylon 12,

polyesters Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natura ...

, and synthetic lubricating oils. It is also used as a temporary binder to stabilise fragile objects or to seal water-sensitive parts; it slowly

sublimates Sublimation is the transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas state, without passing through the liquid state. Sublimation is an endothermic process that occurs at temperatures and pressures below a substance's triple poi ...

over days or weeks without leaving any residue.

Uses

It is a precursor to

laurolactam Laurolactam is an organic compound from the group of macrocyclic lactams. Laurolactam is mainly used as a monomer in engineering plastics, such as nylon-12 and copolyamides.T. Schiffer, G. Oenbrink: ''Cyclododecanol, Cyclododecanone, and Laurolact ...

, a precursor to the polymer Nylon 12. Laurolactam formation 2

Cyclododecane is also an intermediate in production of

flame retardant The term flame retardants subsumes a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an ignition source a ...

detergent A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are m ...

s, and other chemicals. Cyclododecane is also used as a

volatile binding medium Volatility or volatile may refer to: Chemistry * Volatility (chemistry), a measuring tendency of a substance or liquid to vaporize easily * Relative volatility, a measure of vapor pressures of the components in a liquid mixture * Volatiles, a ...

, a temporary binder for sealing and conservation of

friable Friability ( ), the condition of being friable, describes the tendency of a solid substance to break into smaller pieces under duress or contact, especially by rubbing. The opposite of friable is indurate. Substances that are designated hazardous, ...

and structurally weak materials, e.g. during

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Memo ...

and transport of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

objects and in

art restoration The conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property, cultural property (tangible cultural heritage), including Collection (artwork), artworks, Architectural conservation, architecture, Archae ...

, e.g. to protect water-sensitive parts during cleaning. Due to its relatively slow evaporation in comparison with other volatile binding mediums the layer can last for several weeks. Very pure material has to be used so it does not leave any residue. Cyclododecane can be applied in molten state or dissolved in a nonpolar

organic 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 p ...

. Other volatile binding mediums in use are

camphene Camphene is a bicyclic organic compound. It is one of the most pervasive monoterpenes. As for other terpenes, it is insoluble in water, flammable, colorless, and has a pungent smell. It is a minor constituent of many essential oils such as tu ...

, tricyclene and with some limits

menthol Menthol is an organic compound, more specifically a monoterpenoid, made synthetically or obtained from the oils of corn mint, peppermint, or other mints. It is a waxy, clear or white crystalline substance, which is solid at room temperature and ...

Environmental considerations

Cyclododecane is persistent in the environment, as it does not biodegrade easily. Cyclododecane is

lipophilic Lipophilicity (from Greek λίπος "fat" and φίλος "friendly"), refers to the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. Such non-polar solvents are themselves li ...

, usually present in the environment as adsorbed on the surface of soil particles. It has the potential to

bioaccumulate Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost or eliminated ...

. Cyclododecane may cause long lasting harmful effects to aquatic life.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cycloalkanes Methods in archaeology Conservation and restoration materials