Propylene carbonate is an organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

, a cyclic carbonate

Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....

 of propylene glycol

Propylene glycol

Propylene glycol, also called 1,2-propanediol or propane-1,2-diol, is an organic compound with formula C3H8O2 or HO-CH2-CHOH-CH3...

. This colorless and odorless liquid is useful as a polar

Chemical polarity

In chemistry, polarity refers to a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole or multipole moment. Polar molecules interact through dipole–dipole intermolecular forces and hydrogen bonds. Molecular polarity is dependent on the difference in...

, aprotic solvent. Propylene carbonate exists as two enantiomers but is often used as the racemic mixture.
Propylene carbonate is a byproduct of the synthesis of polypropylene carbonate

Polypropylene carbonate

Polypropylene carbonate , also called poly, is a polyalkylene carbonate plastic material, a copolymer of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. It is made by reacting the monomers in presence of eg. a zinc glutarate catalyst. Its CAS number is or .Polypropylene carbonate is soluble in polar solvents,...

 from propylene oxide

Propylene oxide

Propylene oxide is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH3CHCH2O. This colourless volatile liquid is produced on a large scale industrially, its major application being its use for the production of polyether polyols for use in making polyurethane plastics...

 and carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

. It can be intentionally manufactured from the same feedstocks, using different reaction conditions.