chemistry

Sucrose octapropionate

Sucrose octapropionate is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sucrose octapropionate rather than just read about it. In short: Sucrose octapropionate is a chemical compound with formula C36H54O19 or (C3H5O2)8(C12H14O3), an eight-fold ester of sucrose and propionic acid. Its molecule can be described as that of sucrose C12H22O11 with its eight hydroxyl groups HO– replaced by propionate groups H3C–CH2–CO2–.

Key takeaways

Sucrose octapropionate belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sucrose octapropionate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sucrose octapropionate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sucrose octapropionate is a chemical compound with formula C36H54O19 or (C3H5O2)8(C12H14O3), an eight-fold ester of sucrose and propionic acid. Its molecule can be described as that of sucrose C12H22O11 with its eight hydroxyl groups HO– replaced by propionate groups H3C–CH2–CO2–. It is a crystalline colorless solid. It is also called sucrose octapropanoate or octapropionyl sucrose.

History The preparation of sucrose octapropionate was first described in 1933 by Gerald J. Cox and others.

Preparation The compound can be prepared by the reaction of sucrose with propionic anhydride in the melt state or at room temperature, over several days, in anhydrous pyridine.

Properties Sucrose octapropionate is only slightly soluble in water (less than 0.1 g/L) but is soluble in many common organic solvents such as isopropanol and ethanol, from which it can be crystallized by evaporation of the solvent. The crystalline form melts at 45.4–45.5 °C into a viscous liquid (47.8 poises at 48.9 °C), that becomes a clear glassy solid on cooling, but easily recrystallizes. The density of the glassy form is 1.185 kg/L (at 20 °C). It is an optically active compound with [α]20D +53°. The compound can be vacuum distilled at 280–290 °C and 0.05 to 0.07 torr.

Applications Distillation of fully esterified propionates has been proposed as a method for the separation and identification of sugars. While the crystallinity of the pure compound prevents its use as a plasticizer it was found that incompletely esterified variants (with 1 to 2 remaining hydroxyls per molecule) will not crystallize, and therefore can be considered for that application.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sucrose octapropionate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sucrose octapropionate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sucrose octapropionate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sucrose octapropionate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sucrose octapropionate

In research: Sucrose octapropionate appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sucrose octapropionate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sucrose octapropionate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bitter compounds, Disaccharides, Propionate esters, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sucrose octapropionate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sucrose octapropionate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sucrose octapropionate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sucrose octapropionate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sucrose octapropionate in simple terms?

Why does Sucrose octapropionate matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sucrose octapropionate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sucrose octapropionate.