Isolation of toluene
Aislamiento del tolueno
- Date
- 1837 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, France
- Credited to
- Pierre-Joseph Pelletier and Philippe Walter
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Pelletier and Walter isolated toluene by distilling pine oil and called it 'retinaphtha'; it was later linked to the hydrocarbon from tolu balsam, which gave it its final name.
What it led to
- Identification of the family of benzene-derived aromatic hydrocarbons
- Industrial use as a solvent and as raw material for explosives