| Boiling Point | 265°C/100 mmHg (lit.) |
| Melting Point | 151–154°C (lit.) |
| Color | White |
| Linear Formula | HOOC(CH2)4COOH |
| Physical Form | Solid |
| Molecular Weight | 146.14 g/mol |
| SMILES String | OC(=O)CCCCC(O)=O |
| Solubility | 23 g/L (water, 25°C) |
| CAS Number | 124-04-9 |
| EC Number | 204-673-3 |
| NACRES | NA.21 |
| PubChem Substance ID | 57653836 |
| UNSPSC Code | 12352106 |
| MDL Number | MFCD00004420 |
| InChI | 1S/C6H10O4/c7-5(8)3-1-2-4-6(9)10/h1-4H2,(H,7,8)(H,9,10) |
| InChI Key | WNLRTRBMVRJNCN-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
| eCl@ss | 39021711 |
| Beilstein/REAXYS Number | 1209788 |
| Quality Level | 200 |
| Reference Assay | 99% |
Adipic Acid is a six-carbon, straight-chain dicarboxylic acid — a carboxylic acid group at each end of the chain. That bifunctional structure is exactly what’s needed for step-growth polymerization: paired with a diamine or diol, it links end-to-end into long polymer chains, which is the chemistry behind two of the world’s most important synthetic materials, nylon and many polyurethanes.
The largest use of adipic acid by volume is as the acid component in nylon 6,6 production, reacting with hexamethylenediamine to form the polyamide backbone found in textiles, carpeting, and engineering plastics. It’s also a major raw material in polyurethane foam and polyester resin manufacturing, and it’s an approved food-industry acidulant used to adjust flavor and pH in select processed foods.
