Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD)

Dicyclopentadiene, abbreviated DCPD, is a chemical compound with formula C10H12. At room temperature, it is a white brittle wax, although lower purity samples can be straw coloured liquids. The pure material smells somewhat of soy wax or camphor, with less pure samples possessing a stronger acrid odor. Its energy density is 10,975 Wh/l. Dicyclopentadiene is a co-produced in large quantities in the steam cracking of naphtha and gas oils to ethylene. The major use is in resins, particularly, unsaturated polyester resins. It is also used in inks, adhesives, and paints. DPCD was discovered as a C10H12 hydrocarbon among the products of pyrolysis of phenol by Henry Roscoe, who didn't identify the structure (that was made during the following decade) but accurately assumed that it was a dimer of some C5H6 hydrocarbon.