CAS number
- 95-50-1
Molecular formula
- C6H4Cl2
Formula weight
- 147 g/mol
Family
- Chlorobenzenes
Compound properties list|
| Melting/boiling point | -16 °C / 180 °C | Liquid |
| Relative density | 1.3 g/cm3 | Sinks in water |
| Vapour pressure | 2 mm Hg | Moderately volatile |
| Vapour density | 5.1 | Much denser than air |
| Solubility in water | 135 mg/L | Low solubility |
| Henry's law constant | 2 x 10-3atm·m3/mol | Rapid volatilization when dissolved |
| log Koc (Depending on soil or sediment characteristics) | 2.5 - 3.0* | Moderate adsorption to organic matter |
At 20 0C, 1,2-dichlorobenzene is a liquid denser than water and moderately volatile.
Characterized by low solubility, it will volatilize rapidly once dissolved and adsorbs moderately to
organic matter. During a spill, this compound will evaporate in part but may also enter into the
soil or drain into a waterway. Once it encounters water (surface or subsurface), 1,2-dichlorobenzene
will dissolve or sink until it reaches an impermeable surface. As a liquid, 1,2-dichlorobenzene that
accumulates in a saturated zone will slowly dissolve before volatilization occurs. The adsorbed
1,2-dichlorobenzene in the vadose and saturated zones will take a long time to disappear, liberating
contamination in either the gaseous or dissolved state. The resulting plumes (gaseous or dissolved)
will be relatively small in size.
1,2-dichlorobenzene should be handled with care as it is flammable and toxic.
1,2-dichlorobenzene does not occur naturally. Chlorinated benzenes are typically produced
by reacting liquid benzene with gaseous chlorine in the presence of a catalyst at moderate
temperatures and atmospheric pressures. This reaction yields a mixture of chlorobenzene isomers with
varying degrees of chlorination.
1,2-dichlorobenzene is used primarily as a precursor to 3,4-dichloroaniline herbicides. Other
industrial uses of 1,2-dichlorobenzene include solvents and carbon removal, particularly in
metallurgy. It is also used as an intermediate in the synthesis of dyes and other herbicides,
degreasers, as a dye carrier, as an odor control product and as a fungicide. 1,2-dichlorobenzene is
one of the more common chlorobenzene congeners found in the environment, because of its various
commercial applications, dissipative use patterns, and long environmental persistence.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2006. Toxicological profile
for dichlorobenzenes. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
Georgia, U.S.A. (Viewed December 2013)
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. 1999. Canadian water quality guidelines for
the protection of aquatic life: Chlorinated benzenes-1,2-Dichlorobenzene. In: Canadian
environmental quality guidelines, 1999. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Winnipeg.
Canada. (Viewed December 2013)
Montgomery, John H. 2007. Groundwater Chemicals, Desk Reference, Fourth Edition, CRC
Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Florida, U.S.A.
