Chemical Industry Guide

Sec-butanol (2-butanol, SBA) is an under-appreciated C4 secondary alcohol that sits at the crossroads of coatings, industrial cleaning, fuels, and synthesis. It offers a useful balance of solvency, evaporation rate and hydrogen-bonding capacity, and it is the direct precursor to high-demand...

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), pharmacopoeially known as povidone, is one of the most versatile excipients in modern formulations. It binds powders into robust tablets, stabilises supersaturated solutions, forms clear films on skin and mucosa, and—in carefully qualified low-endotoxin grades—supports...

Propylene carbonate (PC) is a high-boiling, polar, aprotic solvent that sits at the crossroads of several growth stories: electrification (lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries), solvent substitution in paints and industrial cleaning, and performance roles in pharmaceuticals and personal care. With...

Propionic anhydride is one of those behind-the-scenes reagents whose influence stretches far beyond its modest profile. In the lab it is the propionylating workhorse that turns alcohols and amines into propionate esters and amides; in industry it is a gateway into antihistamines, corticosteroid...

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has quietly become one of the most strategically important excipients in modern pharmaceutics and nutraceuticals. It’s the backbone of direct-compression tablets, the bulking agent behind clean-label capsules and chewables, and an enabler of new...

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has long been the quiet workhorse of pharmacy—slipping into ointment bases, lubricating tablets, and smoothing manufacturing kinks without fanfare. Over the past decade, however, pharma-grade PEG has stepped into a starring role. It stabilises lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)...

Methyl cyclohexane (MCH) is enjoying a strategic comeback. Once typecast as a hydrocarbon solvent and refinery intermediate, MCH has re-entered centre stage as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) that can move hydrogen at ambient conditions using the reversible methylcyclohexane ↔ toluene +...

Itaconic acid (IA) is having a moment. Long known to biochemists as a metabolite from fungi and, more recently, immunologists as an innate immune signal, IA has re-emerged as a green platform chemical capable of reshaping polymers, coatings, adhesives and packaging. Unlike many bio-based hopefuls,...

Isobornyl methacrylate (IBOMA) sits in a sweet spot of performance and practicality. It carries the same bicyclic, terpene-derived “isobornyl” core as its acrylate cousin (IBOA) but swaps the acrylate head for a methacrylate—shifting reactivity, boosting thermal stability, and unlocking use-cases...

Isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) is a deceptively simple monomer with an outsized impact. In UV-curable systems it behaves like the “smart diluent”: lowering viscosity without flooding the formulation with volatile organic compounds, dialing up glass-transition temperature (Tg), and slashing...