Terephthalic acid molecular structure and names

Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) is the commercial-grade, high-purity form of terephthalic acid (1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid), produced by further refining crude terephthalic acid to remove impurities that interfere with polymerisaion into polyester.

PTA has the molecular formula C₈H₆O₄ (or equivalently C₆H₄(CO₂H)₂), consisting of a benzene ring with two carboxylic acid groups in the 1,4 (para) position, and a molecular weight of 166.13 g/mol.

Being a dicarboxylic acid, PTA reacts with alcohols in an esterification reaction — most importantly with ethylene glycol to form polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the fundamental reaction underlying the entire polyester industry.

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