Cymene describes organic compounds with the formula CH3C6H4CH(CH3)2.
All are colorless liquids, immiscible in water, with similar boiling points.
[1] m- and p-Cymene are prepared by alkylation of toluene with propylene: These alkylations are catalyzed by various Lewis acids, such as aluminium trichloride.
m- and p-Cymene are mainly of interest as precursors to the respective cresols, which exploits the Hock rearrangements.
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