m-Xylene

m-Xylene

Names
Other names m-Xylol 1,3-Dimethylbenzene
Identifiers
CAS Number	108-38-3 Y
ChEBI	CHEBI:28488 N
ChEMBL	ChEMBL286727 N
ChemSpider	7641 Y
Jmol 3D model	Interactive image Interactive image
KEGG	C07208 N
PubChem	7929
RTECS number	ZE2275000
UNII	O9XS864HTE N
InChI InChI=1S/C8H10/c1-7-4-3-5-8(2)6-7/h3-6H,1-2H3 Y Key: IVSZLXZYQVIEFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y
SMILES Cc1cccc(c1)C CC1=CC(C)=CC=C1
Properties
Chemical formula	C8H10
Molar mass	106.16 g/mol
Appearance	Colorless liquid
Density	0.86 g/mL
Melting point	−48 °C (−54 °F; 225 K)
Boiling point	139 °C (282 °F; 412 K)
Solubility in water	insoluble
Solubility in ethanol	very soluble
Solubility in diethyl ether	very soluble
Vapor pressure	9 mmHg (20°C)
Refractive index (nD)	1.49722
Viscosity	0.8059 cP at 0 °C 0.6200 cP at 20 °C
Dipole moment	0.33-0.37 D
Vapor pressure	{{{value}}}
Related compounds
Related aromatic hydrocarbons	benzene toluene o-xylene p-xylene
Supplementary data page
Structure and properties	Refractive index (n), Dielectric constant (εr), etc.
Thermodynamic data	Phase behaviour solid–liquid–gas
Spectral data	UV, IR, NMR, MS
N verify (what is YN ?)
Infobox references

m-Xylene (or meta-xylene) is an aromatic hydrocarbon, based on benzene with two methyl substituents. It is an isomer of o-xylene and p-xylene. The m stands for meta, meaning the two methyl substituents are at locants 1 and 3 on the aromatic ring. m-Xylene is commonly produced in BTX processes, and separated as needed from the other aromatic hydrocarbons.

The major chemical use of meta-xylene is in the manufacture of isophthalic acid, which is used as a copolymerizing monomer to alter the properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), making PET more suitable for the manufacture of soft drinks bottles. To convert m-xylene on an industrial scale to isophthalic acid, the two methyl groups are both catalytically oxidized to carboxyl groups. It is also used as a raw material in the manufacture of 2,4- and 2,6-xylidine as well as a range of smaller-volume chemicals.