Classified as an aromatic hydrocarbon, it is a flammable colorless liquid.

The compound occurs naturally in coal tar and petroleum.

It is used in jet fuel, mixed with other hydrocarbons, to prevent the formation of solid particles which might damage the engine.

German chemist Oscar Jacobsen [de] first prepared the hydrocarbon in 1882 and designated it hemellitol as a reference to the trivial name of hexamethylbenzene.

[5] Industrially, it is isolated from the C9 aromatic hydrocarbon fraction during petroleum distillation.