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Chemical Name: 1,1-Dimethylcyclopentane
Common Synonyms: Dimethylcyclopentane
Chemical Formula: C7H14
Molecular Weight: About 98.19 g/mol
People use this hydrocarbon mostly in labs, and its clear, liquid look doesn’t give away its chemical punch. Being one in a group of cycloalkanes, it stands out because it’s all hydrocarbon—no oxygen, nitrogen, or halogens lurking around. This gives it low polarity, with a familiar faint gasoline smell, reminding folks to respect its volatility among alkanes.
Physical Hazards: Flammable liquid and vapor
Health Hazards: Can cause nausea, dizziness, or headache if inhaled for too long. May irritate eyes or skin after a spill. If swallowed, can bring nausea and stomach discomfort.
Environmental Risk: Not good for aquatic life, especially with longer exposure. Spill enough and it poses a risk to waterways.
Signal Words: Flammable, check local regulations for label warnings before using.
Main Component: 1,1-Dimethylcyclopentane (over 99 percent by volume in typical lab supply)
CAS Number: 1632-16-2
Impurities: Usually other related alkanes in minor trace amounts, but most sources keep the purity above 98 percent.
Inhalation: Get the person into fresh air as soon as possible. If they seem woozy, have them sit down and breathe normally. Headaches or dizziness show up after someone’s been around vapor for a stretch.
Skin Contact: Wash with soap and cool water right away. Take off clothes if they got wet from a spill.
Eye Contact: Rinse gently for several minutes with water. Keep eyelids open and rolled back.
Ingestion: Spit out anything still in the mouth, avoid making yourself throw up, and head for medical help if nausea or cramps start.
Extinguishing Media: Dry chemical powder, carbon dioxide, or foam. Water will spread the burning liquid and isn’t helpful for the flame itself.
Fire Hazards: Vapors catch fire quickly at room temperature. Fumes may travel along the ground to a distant ignition source.
Protective Equipment: Wear self-contained breathing gear and fire-resistant coats; avoid breathing in smoke because burning hydrocarbon brings some nasty stuff with it, such as carbon monoxide.
Personal Precautions: Remove ignition sources—keep cigarettes, flames, and static away. Ventilate the area fast.
Spill Cleanup: Put on gloves and goggles. Absorb the liquid with sand or earth, then gather the waste into a sealable container.
Environmental Steps: Block off drains to stop spills from entering water or soil. Let authorities know if anything big hits a river or sewer inlet.
Handling Tips: Open bottles in a place with airflow. Don’t eat, drink, or puff on cigarettes where you work with this chemical. Wash hands after touching it.
Storage Details: Keep the container sealed up and out of heat or sunlight. Store bottles in a flammable-liquid cabinet or secure flammables area, away from oxidizers. Lock the door if possible, especially in schools or shared labs.
Engineering Controls: Use fume hoods or extraction fans to suck away vapors.
Personal Protective Equipment: Splash goggles for the eyes, hydrocarbon-resistant gloves, and a simple lab apron or coat for body protection. Wear a respirator if ventilating the room doesn’t keep odor levels down.
Hygiene: Wash hands and arms before eating or leaving work. Don’t wear work clothes home.
Appearance: Clear, colorless liquid
Odor: Light, sweet, similar to gasoline or lighter fluid
Boiling Point: Around 102 to 104 °C
Melting Point: Close to -120 °C
Vapor Pressure: Moderate, grows with heat
Solubility: Doesn’t mix with water; likes organic solvents
Density: Less than water, so it floats
Flash Point: Sits around room temperature, around 2 °C (open cup measurement)
Vapor Density: Heavier than air
Chemical Stability: Most of the time stable at room temp, but this chemical is never happy near heat or flame.
Reactive Mixes: Steer clear of strong oxidizing agents (like nitrates, peroxides), and acids. Vapors could explode with air in closed spaces.
Decomposition: Heat or fire breaks it down into smoke, carbon monoxide, sometimes carbon dioxide.
Likely Routes of Exposure: Breathing in vapors, touching liquid to skin or eyes, accidentally swallowing.
Short-Term Effects: Dizziness, headache, lightheaded feeling, stomach pain, and mild skin or eye redness.
Long-Term Exposure: Not much specific data, but like other light hydrocarbons, can hurt nerves and lungs if someone’s around the fumes a lot.
Cancer Info: Little research, but no major alarm on cancer according to available public data.
Other Risks: Swallowing can flood the lungs with liquid (chemical pneumonitis) if someone chokes—which calls for emergency room treatment.
Aquatic Impact: Harmful to fish and smaller water creatures if a spill hits lakes, streams, or rivers—they choke on it or become poisoned.
Soil Fate: Volatile, so it tends to evaporate pretty fast from land.
Bioaccumulation: Not known to stick around in plants or animals, but still, frequent spills degrade water quality.
Breakdown: Sunlight and bacteria can slowly break it up outdoors.
Waste Treatment: Don’t dump down any drain. Seal leftovers in marked, chemical-waste jugs.
Disposal Method: Send off for proper incineration or to a hazardous waste treatment facility. Always follow your local rules about hazardous liquid hydrocarbon disposal.
Container Management: Empty containers can still catch fire, so let leftover vapors air out outdoors before tossing as scrap.
Shipping: Move in containers built to handle flammable liquids. Even small leaks or fumes in a moving vehicle mean real fire risks.
Warning Labels: Check for the flammable diamond or symbol as required by country’s HazMat code.
Storage While Transporting: Don’t pack near oxidizers, food, or human cargo. Secure upright, away from sparks.
Flammable Liquid Rules: Laws may classify this as a regulated substance for transport and storage. Fire departments and local governments can require flammable chemical reporting for certain volumes.
Workplace Standards: Occupational safety agencies provide exposure limits for alkanes and flammable chemicals. Employers must train staff on dangers, safe handling, and spill plans.
Community Right-To-Know: Some areas ask for reporting quantities and safety data to local authorities, helping first responders prepare.
