Stearic Acid

Stearic Acid is a saturated long-chain fatty acid with an 18-carbon backbone. Stearic acid is found in various animal and plant fats, and is a major component of cocoa butter and shea butter. Stearic acid, also called octadecanoic acid, is one of the useful types of saturated fatty acids that comes from many animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is a waxy solid, and its chemical formula is CH3(CH2)16COOH. Its name comes from the Greek word stear, which means tallow. Its IUPAC name is octadecanoic acid. Stearic Acid is a white solid with a mild odor. Floats on water. Stearic acid may be used to compose the core during sol-gel synthesis of nanoencapsulated phase change materials.