Petalia

SyntheticFLOWERSfloral · fruity

Heart·BasePyramid

—Strength

—Tenacity

—Origins

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Specimen

Petalia perfume ingredient — Heart-to-Base

Definition

Petalia is a name given to the nitrile 2-cyclohexylidene-2-(2-methylphenyl)acetonitrile, a compound made by condensation and used as an odorant. Its odour is described as fruity, rosy, lychee and palmarosa.

FLORAL ROSY FRUITY

Type: Ingredient
Olfactive family: Florals
Subfamily: Classic florals
Cluster: Classic florals

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

Scent

The odour is described as fruity, rosy, lychee, palmarosa and Rosacetol.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

The Full Story

Petalia's IUPAC name is 2-cyclohexylidene-2-(2-methylphenyl)acetonitrile. It belongs to the cycloalkylidene-(ortho substituted phenyl)-acetonitriles, a family of compounds described as odorants. Other preferred compounds of this family are cyclopentylidene-o-tolyl-acetonitrile, cyclohexylidene-(2-methoxy-phenyl)-acetonitrile and 2-(2-methylcyclohexylidene)-2-o-tolylacetonitrile.

Cyclohexylidene-phenyl-acetonitrile, the unsubstituted analogue of this family, is also known under the trade name Peonile. Mixtures of cyclohexylidene phenyl acetonitrile and Petalia had crystallised when inspected after one week of storage at 5 degrees centigrade.

The para-tolyl analogue, cyclohexylidene-p-tolyl-acetonitrile, has an odour described as floral, rosy, sweet and vanilla. The meta-tolyl analogue, cyclohexylidene-m-tolyl-acetonitrile, is described as floral and citrus.

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Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Compounds of this family are prepared by condensation of substituted benzyl cyanides with the corresponding cycloalkanones. A mixture of cyclohexanone and 2-methyl benzylcyanide is treated with potassium hydroxide and heated to 120 °C (oil bath 140 °C) for 2 hours, while water distils off as an azeotrope with cyclohexanone. The crude product crystallises on standing and is subjected to a short path distillation at 0.05 mbar. The distillate is recrystallised three times from hexane, which gives a white crystalline product in 50% yield.

Formula: C₁₅H₁₇N
Appearance: White crystalline solid

IFRA status

See note

No IFRA Standard for the material itself (51st Amendment)

Physical properties

Melting point: 65.2-66.0 °C

In Perfumery

In a fragrance, replacing 100 parts of Peonile by cyclohexylidene-o-tolyl-acetonitrile enhances the floral rosy aspect, adds notes of exotic fruits such as lychee and makes the composition much more elegant. The compounds of this family may be used alone or in combination with known odorant molecules.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02blender

Available as

standard form