Triethyl Citrate

What Triethyl Citrate smells like

Triethyl citrate (TEC) is nearly odourless in practical use, with only a faint fruity nuance when smelled neat and close — often likened to white wine or fermented plum — in a supplier's description; another listing gives a slight fruity odour. Its low odour intensity makes it a carrier and diluent rather than a fragrance material, and it is positioned as a replacement for diethyl phthalate.

Leading note

No single note leads in the published descriptions

Faint facets

Faint fruity, wine-like

Character

Neutral, low-volatility

• odourless

What makes Triethyl Citrate distinctive

The modern odourless diluent: DEP's replacement, with a whisper of wine only when smelled neat.

How Triethyl Citrate is used

Used as a diluent, solvent and fixative for perfume oils, often in place of diethyl phthalate.

Typical role: solvent (dilutes or carries other materials).

How Triethyl Citrate differs from similar materials

Diethyl Phthalate (DEP)*

Triethyl citrate is positioned as DEP's replacement; both are nearly odourless diluents. (compared directly by a cited source)

Triacetin

Triacetin is described as odourless; triethyl citrate has a faint fruity, wine-like note when smelled neat.

An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.

Formulation considerations

Miscible with ethanol and most fragrance materials.

Identity and classification

Type

Solvent or carrier

Origin

Synthetic

Odour family

No odour family

Note position

Base note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

TEC

CAS number

77-93-0

Molecular formula

C12H20O7

Molecular weight

276.28 g/mol

IUPAC name

triethyl 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate

The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 6506, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.

Safety and compliance

Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory report it as not meeting the GHS hazard criteria (1,942 of 2,014 reports). Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.

This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.

Materials it works with

• Dipropylene Glycol (DPG)

  Solvent or carrier · No odour family — odourless

• Ethanol (Perfumer's Alcohol)

  Solvent or carrier · No odour family — alcoholic, volatile

• Benzyl Benzoate

  Solvent or carrier · No odour family — faint, balsamic

Triethyl Citrate is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Diethyl Phthalate (DEP), Propylene Glycol and Triacetin.

Used in formulas and accords

Not currently used in any published formula.

The Formula & Accord Library lists Triethyl Citrate here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.

Further reading

• Is Your Fragrance Oil Already Diluted? Carrier Solvents Explained

  Many purchased fragrance oils are cut with DPG, IPM or benzyl benzoate. How to find out, what it does to your concentration, and how IFRA certificates treat it.

Questions about Triethyl Citrate

Sources

• PubChem — compound 6506, checked 19 October 2026.
• PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
• Scent.vn — Triethyl citrate (TEC) — distributor's description.
• De Hekserij — Triethyl citrate — distributor's description.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 21 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.