Appearance Colorless liquid Boiling point 182.4 °C | Formula C9H8 | |
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Indene is a flammable polycyclic hydrocarbon with chemical formula C9H8. It is composed of a benzene ring fused with a cyclopentene ring. This aromatic liquid is colorless although samples often are pale yellow. The principal industrial use of indene is in the production of indene/coumarone thermoplastic resins.
Contents
Isolation
Indene occurs naturally in coal-tar fractions boiling around 175–185 °C. It can be obtained by heating this fraction with sodium to precipitate solid "sodio-indene." This step exploits indene's weak acidity evidenced by its deprotonation by sodium to give the indenyl derivative. The sodio-indene is converted back to indene by steam distillation.
Reactivity
Indene readily polymerises. Oxidation of indene with acid dichromate yields homophthalic acid (o-carboxylphenylacetic acid). It condenses with ethyl oxalate in the presence of sodium ethoxide to form indene-oxalic ester, and with aldehydes or ketones in the presence of alkali to form benzofulvenes. The latter are highly coloured. An indene is also a precursor to the indenyl anion, a ligand in organometallic chemistry with some notability due to the indenyl effect.