Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1Cite as

Ethylene Glycol

  • 218 Accesses

Synonyms

1,2-Ethanediol; Glycol; HOCH2CH2OH

Definition

Ethylene glycol [IUPAC name 1,2-ethanediol] is the simplest dialcohol (or diol). A (toxic) liquid under standard pressure from 197 °C down to −12 °C, its mixture (70–30 %) with water remains liquid down to −51 °C, which explains its use as antifreeze. It is currently produced by reaction of ethylene oxide (oxirane, C2H4O) with water. Ethylene glycol has been found in the interstellar medium toward the galactic center and in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp).

History

Detection of ethylene glycol in interstellar matter was rather difficult; it was performed for the first time by Hollis et al. (2002) toward the galactic center. This contrasts with the relative strength of the lines in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), where this molecule was identified in archive spectra as soon as the line frequencies were available (Crovisier et al. 2004). Several conformers of ethylene glycol exist (Hollis et al. 2002), and the astronomical detections prior...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References and Further Reading

  • Crovisier J, Bockelée-Morvan D, Biver N, Colom P, Despois D, Lis DC (2004) Ethylene glycol in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). Astron Astrophys 418:L35–L38

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hollis JM, Lovas FJ, Jewell PR, Coudert LH (2002) Interstellar antifreeze: ethylene glycol. Astrophys J Lett 571:L59–L62

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire de Bordeaux, 2 r de l’Observatoire, 33270, BP 89, Floirac, France

    Didier Despois

Authors
  1. Didier Despois
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Didier Despois .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Despois, D. (2014). Ethylene Glycol. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1882-5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1882-5

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    OH)
    Published:
    25 June 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1882-6

  2. Original

    Ethylene Glycol
    Published:
    02 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1882-5

Search

Navigation