Mrs. Fenker
Chemistry (3)
13 April 2016
Molecule Research Paper- Propylene Glycol 1, 2-Propanediol, also known as Propylene Glycol, is an organic compound used in a variety of skin care products. In these paragraphs, you will read about the overall structure of the molecule, the most common uses for the molecule, the physical properties that the molecule is comprised of, and an important news article that shocked the nation regarding the molecule. The chemical formula of Propylene Glycol is C3H8O2. It contains, as the chemical formula shows, three Carbon atoms, eight Hydrogen atoms, and two Oxygen atoms. If a lewis dot diagram is drawn out (as seen on the picture below, to the right), it can be seen that there are only single bonds throughout the entire molecule, and well as only two lone pairs. As depicted in the picture below to the left, the geometric shapes that make up the molecule are two bent and three tetrahedral shapes. …show more content…
In its appearance, it seems to be similar to water- it is colorless and odorless. However, it is considerably more thick and viscous than water, and it is documented to have a slightly sweet taste. The molecule is both polar and containing hydrogen bonds. Due to the fact that it is polar, and like-dissolves-like, propylene glycol is indeed soluble in water, and is often sold this way in smoke machine liquids. Its ability to be soluble in water and to disrupt ice formation is also what makes it an ideal antifreeze chemical. It is not a highly reactant chemical, and is fairly stable and safe- another reason it is marketed so often. If it gets exposed to very high temperatures, however, it may become flammable. It decomposes in a fairly short amount of time- if it is in the air it can take 24-50 hours, and elsewhere, it takes anywhere from couple days to a week to break