Dodecanol, also known by its IUPAC name 1-dodecanol or dodecan-1-ol, and by its trivial name dodecyl alcohol and lauryl alcohol, is a fatty alcohol

Fatty alcohol

Fatty alcohols are aliphatic alcohols consisting of a chain of 8 to 22 carbon atoms. Fatty alcohols usually have even number of carbon atoms and a single alcohol group attached to the terminal carbon. Some are unsaturated and some are branched...

. Dodecanol is a colourless, water insoluble solid of melting point 24 °C and boiling point 259 °C. It has a floral odor. It can be obtained from palm kernel

Palm kernel

Many plants and trees like olive, soybean, canola, sunflower and coconut palm produce one type of oil. The fruits of the oil palm tree, however, yields two distinct oils - palm oil and palm kernel oil....

 or coconut oil

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm . Throughout the tropical world, it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations. It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry...

 fatty acid

Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have a chain of an even number of carbon atoms, from 4 to 28. Fatty acids are usually derived from...

s and methyl esters by reduction

Redox

Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....

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Dodecanol is used to make surfactant

Surfactant

Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid, the interfacial tension between two liquids, or that between a liquid and a solid...

s, lubricating oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

s, pharmaceuticals, and as a flavor enhancing food additive

Food additive

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines...

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In cosmetics, dodecanol is used as an emollient.
Dodecanol is a mild skin irritant.