Product Description
Formaldehyde is the simplest member of the aldehyde family, characterized by its high chemical reactivity and certain toxicity. Under normal conditions, it exists as a colorless gas with a strong, pungent odor and readily undergoes polymerization to form polyformaldehyde. It is highly soluble in water, alcohols, and various organic solvents, making it suitable for a wide range of chemical applications. Formaldehyde is an important industrial chemical and is widely used in the production of synthetic resins, plastics, adhesives, and building materials. It is also involved in various chemical manufacturing processes. In the environment, formaldehyde mainly originates from fuel combustion, industrial emissions, construction and decoration materials, and household products. Due to its potential health effects, proper handling and exposure control are essential.
Chemical Properties
| Melting point | -15°C |
| Boiling point | 97°C(37% solution),-19.5°C(pure) |
| density | 1.09 g/mL at 25 °C(lit.) |
| vapor density | 1.03 (vs air) |
| vapor pressure | 52 mm Hg ( 37 °C) |
| refractive index | n20/D 1.377 |
| Fp | 133 °F |
| storage temp. | room temp |
| solubility | water: soluble |
| form | Solution |
| pka | 13.27(at 25℃) |
| color | APHA: ≤10 |
| Odor | Pungent odor detectable at 1 ppm |
| PH | pH (25℃) : 7.0～7.5 |
| Odor Threshold | 0.5ppm |
| Water Solubility | soluble |
| λmax | λ: 260 nm Amax: 0.01 |
| λ: 280 nm Amax: 0.01 | |
| Merck | 144235 |
| BRN | 1209228 |
| Henry's Law Constant | 2.08(x 10-7 atm?m3/mol) at 25 °C (flow-type generation system, spectrophometry, Kanda et al., 2005) |
| Dielectric constant | 23.0（Ambient） |
| Exposure limits | NIOSH REL: TWA 0.016 ppm, 15-min C 0.1 ppm, IDLH 20 ppm; OSHA PEL: TWA 0.75 ppm, STEL 2 ppm. |
| InChIKey | WSFSSNUMVMOOMR-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
| LogP | 0.35 |
| CAS DataBase Reference | 50-00-0(CAS DataBase Reference) |
| IARC | 1 (Vol. Sup 7, 62, 88, 100F) 2012 |
| NIST Chemistry Reference | Formaldehyde(50-00-0) |
| EPA Substance Registry System | Formaldehyde (50-00-0) |
Safety Information
| Hazard Codes | T |
| Risk Statements | 23/24/25-34-40-43-39/23/24/25-68-45-68/20/21/22 |
| Safety Statements | 36/37-51-45-36/37/39-26-53 |
| RIDADR | UN 1198 3/PG 3 |
| OEB | E |
| OEL | TWA: 0.016 ppm, Ceiling: 0.1 ppm [15-minute] |
| WGK Germany | 2 |
| RTECS | LP8925000 |
| F | 10 |
| Autoignition Temperature | 424 °C for formalin containing 15% methanol |
| TSCA | Yes |
| HazardClass | 3 |
| PackingGroup | III |
| HS Code | 29121100 |
| Hazardous Substances Data Toxicity | 50-00-0(Hazardous Substances Data) |
| LD50 oral (rat) 500 mg/kg | |
| LD50 skin (rabbit) 270 mg/kg | |
| LC50 inhal (rat) 203 mg/m3 (2 h) | |
| PEL (OSHA) 1 ppm (1.5 mg/m3) | |
| TLV-TWA (ACGIH) 0.3 ppm (ceiling)(0.37 mg/m3) | |
| STEL (OSHA) 2 ppm (2.5 mg/m3) | |
| IDLA | 20 ppm |
Product Usage
Formaldehyde is a powerful reducing agent featuring prominent bactericidal activity. It can serve as a disinfectant for human use and function as antiseptic and fumigant for animals.
As a fundamental organic chemical raw material, formaldehyde is extensively applied in manufacturing pharmaceuticals, synthetic fibers, hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins, plastic preservatives and reducing agents. Its major end‑uses cover phenolic resins, urea‑formaldehyde resins, melamine‑formaldehyde resins and polyoxymethylene resins.
Besides, it participates in the synthesis of MDI, pentaerythritol, hexamethylenetetramine and butanediol. It also finds application in chromatographic analysis, sterilization work, phenolic resin production, and preservation & immersion of biological specimens.
