Overview

Styrene (STY-reen) is a colorless to yellowish, oily liquid with a sweet, flowery odor at low concentrations and a sharp, penetrating, disagreeable odor at high concentrations. When exposed to light and air, it slowly polymerizes. Polymerization is the chemical reaction in which a small molecule, such as styrene, reacts with other molecules of the same kind to produce very large molecules, usually made of long chains. Styrene occurs naturally in very small amounts in certain foods, such as coffee, strawberries, and cinnamon; in the sap of some trees; and in the gaseous emissions from internal combustion engines, waste incinerators, and tobacco smoke.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Ethylbenzene; vinylbenzene; phenylethylene; styrol; styrolene; cinnamol

Formula:

C₆H₅CH=CH₂

Elements:

Carbon, hydrogen

Compound Type:

Aromatic hydrocarbon (organic)

State:

Liquid

Molecular Weight:

104.15 g/mol

Melting Point:

−30.65°C (−23.17°F)

Boiling Point:

145°C (293°F)

Solubility:

Insoluble in water; soluble in ethyl alcohol...