Chemical Industry Guide

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...

Isoamyl alcohol—also known as isopentyl alcohol or 3-methyl-1-butanol—is a shape-shifting ingredient that comfortably bridges fragrance labs, coatings plants, pharmaceutical clean rooms, breweries, and even the R&D bays of alternative fuels. In perfumery it’s the backbone behind “banana” and...

Glyoxylic acid sits at an unusual crossroads. It’s the quiet aldehydic acid behind glossy “formaldehyde-free” hair-smoothing services, a linchpin intermediate for blockbuster pharmaceuticals such as amoxicillin and atenolol, a feedstock to flavours like vanillin, and a workhorse in agrochemicals...

Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) is one of those quiet, workhorse molecules whose impact far exceeds its fame. In 2022, the global GBL market was widely estimated around the mid-$3.6–3.7 billion mark and is tracking toward roughly $5 billion by 2032 on the back of electronics, capacitor electrolytes,...

Ethylene carbonate (EC) has become a quiet linchpin of the energy transition. This small cyclic carbonate—solid at room temperature, highly polar, and uniquely suited to form stable interphases on graphite—sits at the heart of mainstream lithium-ion (Li-ion) electrolyte formulations. As...

Ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) has quietly become one of the most strategic molecules in the clean-tech economy. As a high-purity carbonate ester, EMC sits at the intersection of electrochemistry, sustainable manufacturing, and advanced formulations—from lithium-ion batteries to speciality coatings,...