Benzilic acid

Benzilic acid (CAS 76-93-7), also known as diphenylglycolic acid, is an aromatic hydroxy acid used as a chemical intermediate in pharmaceutical synthesis and polymer chemistry.

Its reactive hydroxyl and carboxyl groups make it a practical building block for producing esters, salts, and more complex molecular structures at industrial scale for various applications.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, it serves as a precursor to anticholinergic active ingredients, including compounds used in antispasmodic drug formulations and other therapeutic agents.

Polymer and specialty chemical producers use it as a polymerization initiator and co-monomer to introduce defined structural features into polyester and polycarbonate systems during production.

It is also used in the synthesis of benzilic acid esters, which function as plasticizers and chemical intermediates in their own right for diverse industrial and laboratory processes.

Research-scale and fine chemical operations source it for asymmetric synthesis and chiral resolution processes where the diphenyl-substituted scaffold is a required starting point for chemists.

The product is supplied as a white to off-white crystalline powder. Standard commercial grades include technical and pharmaceutical-grade material with purity specifications typically ranging from 98% to 99%+.

Packaging options generally range from kilogram-scale laboratory quantities to multi-hundred kilogram bulk orders for industrial users requiring consistent supply and high-quality material.