O-cresol is mainly used for producing synthetic resins. It can also be used to produce pesticide, MCPA, herbicide, disinfectants for medical use, spices, chemical reagents, and antioxidants. In addition, it is used as a thinner and plasticizer for producing sebacic acid.
O-cresol novolac epoxy resins are used widely as electronic encapsulating materials. When the pitch wires in electronic systems are more slender, there are pressing demands for high purity o-cresol novolac epoxy resin which are with little content of hydrolyzable chloride. In this paper, o-cresol novolac resin was synthesized from para-formaldehyde and o-cresol in the presence of a mixed catalyst (oxalic acid and another co-catalyst)
o-Cresol is mainly used as a precursor to other compounds. Chlorination and etherification gives members of a commercially important herbicides, such as 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA). Nitration gives dinitrocresol, a popular herbicide. Kolbe–Schmitt carboxylation gives o-cresotinic acid, a pharmaceutical intermediate. Carvacrol, essence of oregano, is derived by alkylation of o-cresol with propene. The muscle relaxant mephenesin is an ether derived from o-cresol.
Human doses of up to 1.74 mg/kg bw/d are estimated .
