CHRYSENE C18H12  , a

hydrocarbon occurring in the high boiling fraction of the coal tar distillate . It is produced in small quantity in the distillation of amber, on passing the vapour of phenyl-naphthyl-methane through a red-hot tube, on heating indene, or by passing the mixed vapours of coumarone and naphthalene through a red-hot tube . It crystallizes in plates or octahedra (from benzene), which exhibit a violet fluorescence, and melt at 2500 C . Chromic acid in glacial acetic acid solution oxidizes it to chrysoquinone C18H10O2, which when distilled with lead oxide gives chrysoketone C17H10O . When chrysene is fused with alkalis, chrysenic acid, C17H12O3, is produced, which on heating gives fl-phenyl-naphthalene . On heating chrysene with hydriodic acid and red phosphorus to 260° C., the hydro-derivatives C18H2s and C18H3o are produced . It gives characteristic addition products with picric acid and dinitroanthraquinone .