Styrene facts for kids

Styrene molecule

Styrene is a certain organic chemical compound having the chemical formula C₈H₈. Its chemical structure is made up of a vinyl group bonded onto a benzene ring. This benzene ring makes styrene an aromatic compound. At room temperature and pressure, styrene is a clear, colorless liquid. Other names for styrene can be styrol, vinylbenzene, phenylethene, or phenylethylene.

Uses

Styrene is used in the chemical industry as a monomer. This means many styrene molecules can bond together to make a larger molecule called polystyrene. Polystyrene is a kind of polymer often used as a plastic. This kind of chemical reaction is called polymerization.

Many styrene molecules bond together to make a polystyrene molecule. The squiggly lines show that the long polystyrene molecule goes on farther at both ends.

Styrene can also bond with other kinds of monomers to make other kinds of polymers called copolymers. For one example, styrene has been mixed with another monomer called 1,3-butadiene to make a copolymer which is a kind of synthetic rubber. For another example, styrene is mixed with acrylonitrile and 1,3-butadiene to make a copolymer plastic called ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene).

Production

In industry, styrene is made from ethylbenzene by this chemical reaction:

This kind of reaction is called dehydrogenation. Hydrogen is also made by this reaction.