Molar Mass of Ethylene Glycol (C₂H₆O₂)

Each row shows how much mass one element contributes to the total for C₂H₆O₂.

Save a printable summary, revision sheet, practice worksheet, or laboratory reference for Ethylene Glycol (C₂H₆O₂).

Without looking above, write the atom count for C₂H₆O₂, then compute the molar mass. Check your answer against 62.068 g/mol.

Next challenge: how many grams are in 0.250 mol of Ethylene Glycol? Multiply 0.250 × 62.068 to get 15.517 g.

Spilled antifreeze poses a significant hazard to wildlife and pets due to its sweet taste and toxicity; used antifreeze requires proper recycling or disposal to prevent groundwater contamination.

Not used biologically; highly toxic if ingested due to metabolism to oxalic acid, causing kidney damage and metabolic acidosis.

Preparation and production

Industrially produced by hydrating ethylene oxide (itself derived from ethylene) with water under heat and pressure, or catalytically via newer routes from syngas or biomass-derived feedstocks. Laboratory quantities can be obtained from the same ethylene oxide hydration reaction on a smaller scale.

Global ethylene glycol production exceeds 30 million tonnes annually, with the majority consumed by the polyester (PET) industry and a substantial share dedicated to antifreeze and coolant formulations.

Ethylene glycol was first prepared in 1859 by French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz. Its large-scale industrial production and adoption as an antifreeze developed through the early-to-mid 20th century alongside the growth of the automobile industry, while its use as a PET polyester monomer grew explosively after DuPont commercialized polyester fiber production in the 1950s.

Charles-Adolphe Wurtz, 1859 — first synthesized ethylene glycol.

Interesting facts

• Ethylene glycol's sweet taste, combined with its severe toxicity, makes accidental antifreeze poisoning a well-known veterinary and pediatric emergency scenario.
• A 50:50 water-glycol mixture can protect an engine from freezing down to roughly −37 °C while also raising the boiling point well above 100 °C.
• The vast majority of ethylene glycol produced worldwide goes into making PET plastic and polyester fiber, not antifreeze.
• Fomepizole, the modern antidote for ethylene glycol poisoning, works by the same competitive enzyme-blocking principle once achieved with intravenous ethanol.

Comparison with similar compounds

Ethylene glycol (C₂H₆O₂, 62.07 g/mol) is metabolized to toxic oxalic acid, whereas its close relative propylene glycol (C₃H₈O₂, 76.09 g/mol) is metabolized to harmless lactic acid and pyruvate, explaining why only propylene glycol is approved for food and pharmaceutical use.

Store in tightly sealed containers away from ignition sources and incompatible oxidizers. Because of its toxicity and appealing sweet taste, store away from children and pets, and use commercial formulations containing bittering agents where required by regulation.

Toxic if ingested; avoid skin and eye contact with concentrated material. Use gloves and eye protection when handling bulk quantities. Never siphon or taste-test antifreeze, and clean up spills promptly to prevent animal or child exposure.

Highly toxic if ingested due to metabolism to oxalic acid, causing severe metabolic acidosis and kidney failure; low acute hazard from skin contact or inhalation at typical handling conditions.

• Severe toxicity if ingested (kidney failure, metabolic acidosis)
• Sweet taste increases risk of accidental ingestion by children and pets
• Mild skin and eye irritation from direct contact
• Combustible liquid at elevated temperatures

Classification: GHS: Acute Tox. 4 (oral)

1. 1. Calculate the molar mass of ethylene glycol (C₂H₆O₂).

   Show answer

   2(12.01) + 6(1.008) + 2(16.00) = 62.07 g/mol

2. 2. How many moles of ethylene glycol are in 500 g of pure antifreeze concentrate?

   Show answer

   500 g ÷ 62.07 g/mol ≈ 8.06 mol

3. 3. Estimate the freezing point depression of a solution containing 1.00 mol ethylene glycol per kg of water (Kf for water = 1.86 °C·kg/mol).

   Hint: Ethylene glycol is a non-electrolyte, so van't Hoff factor i = 1.

   Show answer

   ΔTf = Kf × m = 1.86 × 1.00 = 1.86 °C depression (new freezing point ≈ −1.86 °C)

4. 4. Why is ethylene glycol poisoning treated with ethanol or fomepizole rather than simply inducing vomiting?

   Show answer

   Both compounds competitively inhibit alcohol dehydrogenase, slowing the enzyme from converting ethylene glycol into its toxic metabolites (glycolic and oxalic acid), which is more effective than removing unmetabolized parent compound alone.

• EthanolC₂H₆O

The sections above give the number you need for calculations. Here we look more closely at how Ethylene Glycol (C₂H₆O₂) behaves chemically—so the molar mass connects to real reactions, properties, and laboratory practice.

Ethylene glycol (C₂H₆O₂) is the simplest diol, with molar mass 62.07 g/mol (C 2 × 12.01 + H 6 × 1.008 + O 2 × 16.00), consisting of two carbons each bearing a hydroxyl group. This dual-hydroxyl structure gives it far stronger hydrogen bonding and a much higher boiling point (197 °C) than simple monohydric alcohols of similar carbon count, while its ability to depress water's freezing point and elevate its boiling point in mixture makes it the dominant automotive antifreeze and engine coolant worldwide.

The molecular basis of automotive coolant chemistry is colligative: dissolved ethylene glycol lowers the freezing point of the water/glycol mixture (protecting against winter freeze damage) while simultaneously raising its boiling point (protecting against summer overheating), and a roughly 50:50 mixture with water achieves close to the practical optimum for both effects in typical climates. Beyond automotive use, ethylene glycol is a major industrial feedstock for producing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — the polyester used in plastic bottles and synthetic fibers — through condensation polymerization with terephthalic acid, making it one of the highest-volume industrial organic chemicals in the world.

Ethylene glycol carries a serious toxicological profile distinct from its chemical cousin propylene glycol: it has a deceptively sweet taste that has led to accidental and occasionally intentional poisonings, particularly in pets and children attracted to spilled antifreeze. Its danger arises not from the parent compound itself but from its metabolism: liver alcohol dehydrogenase oxidizes it stepwise to glycolaldehyde, glycolic acid, and ultimately toxic oxalic acid, which precipitates as calcium oxalate crystals in the kidneys, causing severe metabolic acidosis and potentially fatal renal failure — a mechanism that also explains why the standard antidote (fomepizole, or historically ethanol) works by competitively blocking the same alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme responsible for producing the toxic metabolites.

C₂H₆O₂ can be written HOCH₂–CH₂OH to show its two hydroxyl groups, one on each carbon of the ethane backbone. As a diol, it has twice the hydrogen-bonding capacity of a simple monohydric alcohol like ethanol, which explains its considerably higher boiling point, viscosity, and water miscibility despite the modest molecular size.

Ethylene glycol behaves as a typical primary alcohol at each hydroxyl group, undergoing esterification (notably with terephthalic acid to form PET polyester), oxidation, and dehydration reactions. It is completely miscible with water and many polar organic solvents due to extensive hydrogen bonding. Metabolically, it is oxidized stepwise by alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase to glycolaldehyde, glycolic acid, glyoxylic acid, and toxic oxalic acid — the basis of its serious toxicity when ingested.

Recalculate any formula with the molar mass calculator, compare atoms on the periodic table, or browse more compounds in the organic library.

• PubChem CID 174: Ethylene glycol compound data
• NIST Chemistry WebBook: Thermodynamic properties
• American Association of Poison Control Centers: Ethylene glycol toxicity and treatment guidance