Glycerol (data page)

Last updated January 27, 2024

This page provides supplementary chemical data on glycerol.

Material Safety Data Sheet

The handling of this chemical may incur notable safety precautions. It is highly recommended that you seek the Material Safety Datasheet (MSDS) for this chemical from a reliable source and follow its directions.

Structure and properties

Structure and properties
Index of refraction, n_D	1.4729 at 20 °C
Abbe number	?
Dielectric constant, ε_r	42.5 ε₀ at 25 °C
Bond strength	?
Bond length	?
Bond angle	?
Magnetic susceptibility	?
Surface tension ^[1]	63.4 mN/m at 20 °C 58.6 mN/m at 90 °C 51.9 mN/m at 150 °C
Viscosity ^[2]	1.412 Pa·s at 20 °C

Thermodynamic properties

Phase behavior
Triple point	291.8 K (18.7 °C), ~99500 Pa
Critical point	850 K (577 °C), 7500 kPa
Std enthalpy change of fusion, Δ_fusH^o	18.28 kJ/mol
Std entropy change of fusion, Δ_fusS^o	62.7 J/(mol·K)
Std enthalpy change of vaporization, Δ_vapH^o	91.7 kJ/mol
Std entropy change of vaporization, Δ_vapS^o	201 J/(mol·K)
Solid properties
Std enthalpy change of formation, Δ_fH^o_solid	? kJ/mol
Standard molar entropy, S^o_solid	37.87 J/(mol K)^[3]
Heat capacity, c_p	150. J/(mol K) 6 °C - 11 °C
Liquid properties
Std enthalpy change of formation, Δ_fH^o_liquid	–669.6 kJ/mol
Standard molar entropy, S^o_liquid	206.3 J/(mol K)^[4]
Enthalpy of combustion, Δ_cH^o	–1654.3 kJ/mol
Heat capacity, c_p	221.9 J/(mol K) at 25 °C
Gas properties
Std enthalpy change of formation, Δ_fH^o_gas	–577.9 kJ/mol
Standard molar entropy, S^o_gas	? J/(mol K)
Heat capacity, c_p	? J/(mol K)

Vapor pressure of liquid

P in mm Hg		1	10	40	100	400	760
T in °C		125.5	167.2	198.0	220.1	263.0	290.0

Table data obtained from CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 44th ed.

log_e of Glycerol vapor pressure. Uses formula: $\scriptstyle \log _{e}P_{kPa}=$ $\scriptstyle A\times ln(T)+B/T+C+D\times T^{2}$ with coefficients A=-2.125867E+01, B=-1.672626E+04, C=1.655099E+02, and D=1.100480E-05 obtained from CHERIC^[5]

Freezing point of aqueous solutions

% glycerol by weight	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
Freezing point °C	–1.6	–4.8	–9.5	–15.5	–22.0	–33.6	–37.8	–19.2	–1.6	17.0
Specific gravity d^15°	1.02415	1.04935	1.07560	1.10255	1.12985	1.15770	1.18540	1.21290	1.23950	1.26557

Table data obtained from Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 10th ed. Specific gravity is at 15 °C, referenced to water at 15 °C.

See details on: Freezing Points of Glycerine-Water Solutions Dow Chemical ^[6] or Freezing Points of Glycerol and Its Aqueous Solutions.^[7]

Distillation data

BP Temp. °C	% by mole water
Vapor-liquid Equilibrium of Glycerol/water^[8] P = 760 mmHg
BP Temp. °C	liquid	vapor
278.8	2.75	93.15
247.0	4.67	94.73
224.0	6.90	95.63
219.2	7.67	97.43
210.0	9.01	97.83
202.5	10.31	97.24
196.5	11.59	98.39
175.2	17.56	98.99
149.3	30.04	99.64
137.2	38.47	99.76
136.8	38.95	98.78
131.8	43.58	99.76
121.5	56.33	99.84
112.8	70.68	99.93
111.3	73.86	99.94
106.3	84.42	99.96

Spectral data

UV-Vis
λ_max	? nm
Extinction coefficient, ε	?
IR
Major absorption bands	? cm⁻¹
NMR
Proton NMR
Carbon-13 NMR
Other NMR data
MS
Masses of main fragments

This box:

Except where noted otherwise, data relate to Standard temperature and pressure.
Reliability of data general note.

Related Research Articles

Glycerol, also called glycerine or glycerin, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. Because it has antimicrobial and antiviral properties, it is widely used in wound and burn treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Conversely, it is also used as a bacterial culture medium. Its presence in blood can be used as an effective marker to measure liver disease. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pharmaceutical formulations. Because of its three hydroxyl groups, glycerol is miscible with water and is hygroscopic in nature.

Freezing-point depression is a drop in the maximum temperature at which a substance freezes, caused when a smaller amount of another, non-volatile substance is added. Examples include adding salt into water, alcohol in water, ethylene or propylene glycol in water, adding copper to molten silver, or the mixing of two solids such as impurities into a finely powdered drug.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on acetone.

This page provides supplementary data to the article properties of water.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on methanol.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on carbon dioxide.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on ammonia.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on benzene.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on p-xylene.

This page contains tables of azeotrope data for various binary and ternary mixtures of solvents. The data include the composition of a mixture by weight, the boiling point (b.p.) of a component, the boiling point of a mixture, and the specific gravity of the mixture. Boiling points are reported at a pressure of 760 mm Hg unless otherwise stated. Where the mixture separates into layers, values are shown for upper (U) and lower (L) layers.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on isopropanol.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on ethane.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on aniline.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on ethylene glycol.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on chloroform.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on carbon disulfide.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on o-Xylene.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on m-Xylene.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on 1,2-dichloroethane.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on tetrachloroethylene.

References

↑ "Physical Properties of Glycerine and its solutions" (PDF). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
↑ Segur, J. B.; Oberstar, H. E. (1951). "Viscosity of Glycerol and Its Aqueous Solutions". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 43 (9): 2117–2120. doi:10.1021/ie50501a040.
↑ "Glycerin".
↑ Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 17th Ed., 2017, McGraw-Hill Education, Table 2.54.
↑ "Pure Component Properties" (Queriable database). Chemical Engineering Research Information Center. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
↑ Freezing Points of Glycerine-Water Solutions Dow Chemical
↑ Lane, Leonard B. (September 1925). "Freezing Points of Glycerol and Its Aqueous Solutions". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 17 (9): 924. doi:10.1021/ie50189a017.
↑ "Binary Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium Data" (Queriable database). Chemical Engineering Research Information Center. Retrieved 7 June 2007.

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[1] "Physical Properties of Glycerine and its solutions" (PDF). Retrieved 19 March 2021.

[Viscosity_of_Glycerol_and_its_Aqueous_Solutions-2] Segur, J. B.; Oberstar, H. E. (1951). "Viscosity of Glycerol and Its Aqueous Solutions". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 43 (9): 2117–2120. doi:10.1021/ie50501a040.

[3] "Glycerin".

[4] Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 17th Ed., 2017, McGraw-Hill Education, Table 2.54.

[cheric_p-5] "Pure Component Properties" (Queriable database). Chemical Engineering Research Information Center. Retrieved 13 May 2007.

[6] Freezing Points of Glycerine-Water Solutions Dow Chemical

[7] Lane, Leonard B. (September 1925). "Freezing Points of Glycerol and Its Aqueous Solutions". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 17 (9): 924. doi:10.1021/ie50189a017.

[cheric-8] "Binary Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium Data" (Queriable database). Chemical Engineering Research Information Center. Retrieved 7 June 2007.

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