DOTP / DEHT (Dioctyl Terephthalate): Properties, Uses in Plastics and Regulatory Status

DOTP (dioctyl terephthalate, also called DEHT; CAS 6422-86-2) is a terephthalate ester used as a general-purpose primary plasticizer for flexible PVC, and it is the largest general-purpose non-ortho-phthalate replacement for DEHP (DOP). Because DOTP carries its two ester groups in the para position rather than on adjacent ring carbons, regulators do not treat it as an ortho-phthalate, which raises the question of how far its status really differs from the status of DOP.

The difference is recorded in four instruments. DOTP is registered under REACH, has never been placed on the REACH Candidate List, carries no harmonised classification under the CLP Regulation, and is authorised for EU food-contact plastics as FCM substance 798 with a specific migration limit of 60 mg/kg under Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 (status 22 September 2026). DOTP is one of 56 plasticizer pages in our directory of plastic additives, each carrying the same identity, dosage and regulatory fields.

This page holds the data-sheet view and the compliance view in one place: the identity that separates DOTP from its isomers DEHP, DOIP and DNOP, the solvation mechanism, the physical constants recorded by PubChem, the 5 to 65 wt% dosage band in flexible PVC and its conversion from phr, 7 application areas from wire and cable to blood containers, the typical substitution factor of 1.03 against DEHP, a dated matrix across REACH, EU 10/2011, CLP, the POPs Regulation, CPSIA and Canada, the comparison with DOP, DINP, TOTM, DINCH and DEHCH, and the producers, trade names and grades a buyer can source.

Table T1. DOTP identity card.

Footnote: identity and physical data from PubChem CID 22932; regulatory entries from ECHA registration dossier 15238 and the EU, US and Canadian legal texts cited in each section. Status as of 22 September 2026.

What Is DOTP (Dioctyl Terephthalate)?#

DOTP is the bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester of terephthalic acid (benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid), a primary plasticizer that softens PVC on its own without a second plasticizer. Both ester groups sit in the para position, on opposite carbons of the aromatic ring, and each one carries a branched C8 chain supplied by 2-ethylhexanol. The systematic name encodes exactly those two raw materials, terephthalic acid and 2-ethylhexanol, and the molecule they form has the formula C24H38O4 and a molecular weight of 390.6 g/mol. Which substances, then, does the name DOTP actually cover?

A primary plasticizer is defined by function rather than by chemistry. ASTM D883 defines a plasticizer as a substance incorporated into a plastic or elastomer to increase its flexibility, workability or distensibility, and a primary plasticizer is compatible enough with the resin to do that alone, unlike a secondary plasticizer or extender that has to be blended with one. Plasticizers are the heaviest additive family used in polymers by weight, and the hub on plasticizers for plastics compares every class of them, from ortho-phthalates and terephthalates to trimellitates, cyclohexanoates, adipates, citrates and epoxidised esters. DOTP holds the general-purpose position in that family, the slot DEHP held in Europe before the REACH restriction.

What does DOTP stand for?#

DOTP stands for dioctyl terephthalate, where "dioctyl" means two branched 2-ethylhexyl groups, not straight n-octyl chains. The same trade convention applies to DOP, which means DEHP rather than the linear di-n-octyl ester, so a data sheet headed dioctyl terephthalate and a data sheet headed di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate describe one substance, CAS 6422-86-2, under two names.

Is DOTP a phthalate?#

DOTP is not a phthalate in the regulatory sense: regulators such as the US EPA use "phthalate" for esters of ortho-phthalic acid, and DOTP is an ester of terephthalic (para) acid. Chemically, DOTP is still an ester of a phthalic-acid isomer, so the precise label is non-ortho-phthalate, and Eastman sets out the same distinction in its position paper PZ-036 on terephthalates. DOTP is the volume leader among non-phthalate plasticizers, the group that regulators treat separately from ortho-phthalates in REACH Annex XVII, in 16 CFR 1307 and in the Canadian toy regulation.

The three ring isomers are distinguished by where the two ester groups sit, and only the ortho family carries the phthalate restrictions.

Why do DOTP, DEHP and DNOP share the formula C24H38O4?#

DOTP, DEHP (DOP), DOIP and DNOP are isomers: all four share the formula C24H38O4 and a molecular weight of 390.6 g/mol, but they differ in where the ester groups sit on the ring or in how the alcohol chains branch. DOTP carries its esters at the 1,4 positions, DOIP at the 1,3 positions and DEHP at the 1,2 positions, while DNOP (CAS 117-84-0) keeps the ortho arrangement of DEHP and swaps the branched 2-ethylhexyl chains for linear n-octyl chains. A molecular-weight screen therefore cannot separate the four, and an analytical report that gives only a mass has not identified the substance.

Identical mass does not mean identical biology. Para substitution changes the metabolic route, because terephthalates do not form the stable monoester that is linked to ortho-phthalate toxicity, while solvating power and plasticizing efficiency stay close to those of DEHP. The ortho isomer, DEHP (DOP, dioctyl phthalate), carries a harmonised Repr. 1B classification with hazard statement H360FD under CLP Annex VI; DOTP carries no harmonised classification at all.

Is DOTP the same as DEHT?#

Yes: DOTP and DEHT are two abbreviations for the same substance, CAS 6422-86-2, with DEHT the systematic form used in EU regulatory and medical literature and DOTP the trade form used in plasticizer sales. A third form, DEHTP, appears in chemical databases, and the European Pharmacopoeia uses DEHT when it lists alternatives to DEHP for PVC blood containers.

How Does DOTP Plasticize PVC?#

DOTP plasticizes PVC by placing its ester molecules between the polymer chains, weakening the dipole and van der Waals forces that hold those chains together and lowering the glass transition temperature of the compound. The ester oxygen atoms interact with the carbon-chlorine dipoles of the PVC backbone, the chains gain room to move, and a rigid resin becomes a flexible compound at service temperature. How close does DOTP come to DEHP in solvating power? Para substitution keeps DEHP-like solvation and efficiency, which is the reason the substitution factor discussed in the performance section sits at a typical 1.03 against the DEHP reference value of 1.00.

Compatibility sets the limit on that mechanism. A plasticizer stays in a polymer when the difference between the solubility parameters of polymer and plasticizer is within about 1.5 (cal/cm3)^0.5, and an ester outside that window exudes or blooms instead of plasticizing. Dose works the same way: below roughly 15 phr, antiplasticization occurs and the compound becomes stiffer than the unplasticized resin, because the small quantity of ester fills free volume without separating the chains.

The 4 classic theories that describe this behaviour are listed below.

• Lubricity theory, which treats the plasticizer as a lubricant between polymer chains.
• Gel theory, which treats the polymer as a three-dimensional gel whose contact points the plasticizer breaks.
• Free-volume theory, which treats plasticization as an increase in the free volume available for chain motion.
• Mechanistic theory, also called solvation-desolvation, which treats plasticizer and polymer as being in dynamic equilibrium.

The four theories are explained with solubility parameters and compatibility windows on how plasticizers work, and all four predict the same practical outcome for DOTP: a monomeric ester of moderate polarity that plasticizes PVC efficiently and stays in the matrix as long as the dose and the compatibility window are respected.

What Are the Physical and Chemical Properties of DOTP?#

DOTP is a liquid at room temperature with a melting point of -48 °C (-54.4 °F), a boiling point of 383 °C (721.4 °F) and a flash point of 238 °C (460 °F, open cup). Its relative density of 0.9825 at 20/20 °C places it just below water, and the boiling point above 380 °C marks a low-volatility ester that survives PVC processing temperatures.

Table T2. DOTP physical and chemical properties.

Values on this page follow PubChem (CID 22932); the Wikipedia entry for bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate prints a melting point of -63.5 °C (-82.3 °F) and a boiling point of 400 °C (752 °F) instead, so the data source has to be checked whenever two sheets are compared. Vapour pressure, viscosity and low-temperature flexibility values for DOTP are not in our source library, and this page gives none rather than estimating them from a related ester.

Which Polymers Use DOTP, and at What Dosage?#

DOTP is used almost entirely in flexible PVC, where total plasticizer content ranges from 5 to 65 wt% depending on the target hardness of about Shore A 50 to Shore A 90, and it serves as an ester softener in the polar rubbers NBR, CR and IIR. Measured figures are narrower than the class range: Bernard and colleagues found 26.7 to 37.5 wt% DEHT in French PVC medical lines in their 2018 PLoS One study, and Kaya and colleagues used 50 phr DOTP in the cable compounds of their 2026 study in Polymers.

How do phr values convert to weight percent? Weight percent equals the phr of one ingredient divided by the total phr of the whole recipe, multiplied by 100, so 50 phr DOTP in a compound of 100 phr PVC plus 50 phr DOTP gives 50 divided by 150 times 100, or 33.3 wt%. Real compounds also contain heat stabilizers, fillers and lubricants, so the denominator has to be the full formulation total rather than resin plus plasticizer alone. Compound recipes state DOTP in PHR (parts per hundred resin), which converts to weight percent only with that complete total.

Table T3. DOTP levels by polymer.

Footnote: formulation-specific and unrecorded cells mean the figure is not in our source library; we do not estimate dosage.

DOTP in flexible PVC compounds#

DOTP replaces DEHP in flexible PVC compounds at close to the same level, because its typical substitution factor is 1.03 against the DEHP reference value of 1.00, which adds about 3 % more ester for the same hardness. A compound at 40 phr DEHP therefore moves to roughly 41.2 phr DOTP, while the stabilizer, filler and lubricant packages stay where they are. DOTP competes with DINP, DINCH and TOTM across the plasticizers for PVC range, and the choice between them is decided by temperature class, food-contact status and price rather than by softening power alone.

Dose has a floor as well as a range. Below about 15 phr the compound enters the antiplasticization region, where the ester raises stiffness instead of lowering it, so a flexible PVC recipe that uses DOTP as its only plasticizer starts well above that threshold. Hardness targets of Shore A 50 to Shore A 90 span the 5 to 65 wt% plasticizer band.

DOTP in PVC plastisols#

DOTP is a general-purpose plastisol plasticizer rather than a fast fuser, so formulators pair it with fast-fusing esters such as dipropylene glycol dibenzoate or dibutyl terephthalate when gelation speed matters. Plastisols gel and fuse between 140 and 220 °C (284 and 428 °F), and the fast fusers recorded in our source library, DBP, DIBP, BBP, DIHP and dipropylene glycol dibenzoate, reach that state earlier at the cost of a strong viscosity rise during storage.

Kaya and colleagues note in their 2026 Polymers study that DOTP plastisol rheology benefits from the solubility behaviour of the ester, a qualitative observation rather than a measured viscosity curve. No DOTP viscosity, gelation-temperature or fusion-time value sits in our source library, so this page names the behaviour and publishes no number for it. Fast-fuser blends and their viscosity trade-offs are compared on plasticizers for PVC plastisol.

DOTP in rubber compounds (NBR, CR, IIR)#

DOTP also serves as an ester softener in polar rubbers such as NBR, CR and IIR, while non-polar EPDM is essentially incompatible with esters and uses paraffinic or naphthenic oils instead. The ester softeners recorded for NBR and CR compounds are DOS, DOA, DOTP, DBA, Mesamoll and TOTM, and our source library holds no DOTP dosage figure for any of those rubbers.

What Is DOTP Used For? 7 Applications in Plastics#

DOTP is used in 7 main plastics applications: wire and cable, flooring, toys and childcare articles, medical devices, plastisols, gloves and shoes. Nan Ya Plastics lists the same set on its DOTP product page, adding leather, clothing and construction materials to the general-purpose picture.

• Wire and cable insulation and sheathing.
• Flooring and wallcovering.
• Toys and childcare articles.
• Medical devices, including tubing and blood containers.
• PVC plastisols for spread coating and dipping.
• Dipped gloves.
• Footwear.

Wire and cable#

DOTP is a standard plasticizer for general-purpose PVC cable insulation and sheathing, where it replaces DINP and DIDP in many compounds. DIDP and DINP cover the 70 to 90 °C (158 to 194 °F) temperature classes, and trimellitates such as TOTM cover the high-temperature classes above them, so DOTP sits with the general-purpose group rather than with the low-volatility specialities.

Blending decides cold and heat behaviour together. Kaya and colleagues report in Polymers (2026) that blends of DOTP, DOA and TOTM balance low-temperature flexibility against heat resistance in cable compounds tested at 50 phr. A PVC cable insulation also has to reach a minimum limiting oxygen index of 26 vol % O2, which the flame-retardant and filler package delivers rather than the plasticizer. The full insulation package of heat stabilizer, flame retardant and filler is covered on additives for wire and cable compounds.

Flooring and wallcovering#

PVC flooring is one of the markets where DEHT (DOTP) has replaced DEHP: Helene Wiesinger and colleagues at ETH Zurich trace, in Environmental Science & Technology (2024), the shift from DEHP to DINP and DIDP and then to DEHT, DEHA and EHDPP. Flooring and wallcovering are produced by plastisol spread coating, which is why the same three esters reappear in the plastisol section above.

Legacy substances survive in the recyclate rather than in the recipe. The same ETH Zurich work found that 21 % of Swiss PVC floorings sampled in 2021 and 2022 contained restricted ortho-phthalates, mainly carried in with recycled content, while 29 % contained other ortho-phthalates. A compounder who specifies DOTP for a new floor covering therefore still controls the incoming recyclate, because the EU restriction applies to the plasticised material and not to the intention of the formulator.

Medical devices#

DEHT (DOTP) is one of the 4 DEHP alternatives the European Pharmacopoeia lists for PVC blood containers, alongside DINCH, BTHC and TOTM. Bernard and colleagues measured 26.7 to 37.5 wt% DEHT in French PVC medical lines in PLoS One (2018), against 30 to 41 wt% for TOTM, 30.2 to 44.3 wt% for DINCH and 34.9 to 48.7 wt% for DINP in the same survey.

Red-cell storage is where the alternatives are still being separated. Lotens and colleagues report in Vox Sanguinis (2026) that DEHT bags filled with the PAGGSM additive solution can give lower haemolysis than DEHT bags with SAGM over 49 days of storage, a study result rather than a pharmacopoeial requirement. The regulatory clock behind that work is fixed: for DEHP in EU medical devices the latest application date is 1 January 2029 and the sunset date is 1 July 2030 under Regulation (EU) 2023/2482. The four Ph. Eur. alternatives are compared on plasticizers for medical devices.

Toys and childcare articles#

DEHT (DOTP) is one of 5 plasticizers that have replaced restricted phthalates in PVC toys, together with ATBC, TXIB, DINCH and ESBO. Wiesinger and colleagues (2024) also measured how much of the legacy stock remains: restricted phthalates were still found in 11 of 118 PVC toys sampled in Switzerland, in 89 of 700 in the EU and in 17 of 49 in New Zealand.

Substitution in toys is therefore complete in new formulations and incomplete across the market. Which plasticizers each jurisdiction allows in toys is tabulated on plasticizers for toys, and the restriction entries themselves are set out in the regulatory section of this page.

Plastisols, gloves and footwear#

DOTP plastisols go into dipped gloves, coated fabrics and footwear, where a general-purpose plasticizer without ortho-phthalate restrictions is needed. Nan Ya Plastics lists gloves, shoes, leather and clothing among its DOTP applications, and Eastman sells the same ester into these markets as Eastman 168.

Our source library holds no dosage value for gloves, footwear or coated fabrics, so this page describes the use and gives no phr or wt% figure for any of the three.

How Does DOTP Perform in PVC?#

DOTP is almost as efficient as DEHP: its typical substitution factor is 1.03, which means about 3 % more DOTP gives the same hardness as DEHP at the reference value of 1.00. The factors are compared at Shore A 80 or at 50 phr, and they place DOTP between DEHP at 1.00 and DINP at 1.04, with TOTM further away at 1.11. Does DOTP resist heat better than DEHP? Kaya and colleagues report in Polymers (2026) that TOTM and DOTP showed a thermal decomposition onset about 7 °C (about 13 °F) above the other plasticized PVC samples in their series, in which TOTM reached an onset of 262 °C (503.6 °F) and DOA 236 °C (456.8 °F) at 50 phr.

The test standards behind the remaining indicators are fixed even where the values are not. ASTM D1203 Methods A and B and ISO 176 measure volatile loss, ISO 177 measures migration into a contacting material, and ASTM D1239 measures extraction by liquids. Our source library holds no DOTP value under any of those four methods, and no low-temperature flexibility figure either, so this page names the methods and gives no number. Substitution factors for the full ester range, all referenced to DEHP, are listed on plasticizer efficiency and substitution factors.

Loss routes follow from the mechanism rather than from the name of the ester. A monomeric plasticizer is dissolved in the PVC matrix and not bonded to it, so migration into a contacting material, extraction by fatty or solvent media and volatilisation at service temperature stay possible for DOTP as for DEHP. Why unbound esters leave the matrix at all, and which method family measures each route, is explained on plasticizer migration.

Table T4. DOTP performance indicators and the standards that measure them.

Footnote: substitution factors are typical figures from one secondary source (Kanademy), not supplier data. Cells marked as having no value mean the figure is not in our source library; we do not estimate.

How Does DOTP Interact with Other Plasticizers and Additives?#

DOTP is usually blended rather than used alone in demanding compounds: formulators combine it with DOA for low-temperature flexibility, with TOTM for heat resistance and with ESBO as a co-stabilizer. The 3 combinations recorded in our source library are listed below.

• DOTP with DOA (DEHA), for the cold end of the service range in cable compounds (Kaya et al. 2026).
• DOTP with TOTM, for the hot end of the same range, where the trimellitate contributes low volatility.
• DOTP with ESBO, which acts as a co-stabilizer at 1 to 2 wt% and becomes the main plasticizer only at 25 to 45 wt% (Czogala et al. 2021).

Compatibility governs every one of those blends. Two esters mix into PVC as long as each stays within about 1.5 (cal/cm3)^0.5 of the solubility parameter of the resin, and a fast fuser such as dibutyl terephthalate or a benzoate is added when gelation speed rather than compatibility is the limit. ESBO (epoxidized soybean oil) is the one partner that changes the stabilizer balance as well as the plasticizer balance, because it scavenges the hydrogen chloride released during processing and works with calcium-zinc heat stabilizer systems.

What Is the Regulatory Status of DOTP?#

DOTP is REACH-registered, is not a Substance of Very High Concern, is not restricted under REACH Annex XVII and is authorised for EU food-contact plastics with a specific migration limit of 60 mg/kg (status 22 September 2026). The three US cells of the matrix below are now filled: DOTP is cleared for US food contact under 21 CFR 177.1210(b)(5) and five effective food contact notifications, it is on the TSCA Inventory with an active commercial status, and it does not appear on the California Proposition 65 list (verified 25 September 2026).

Table T5. DOTP regulatory matrix, as of 22 September 2026.

Restriction entries, not substance classes, decide what a compound may contain. Entry 51 limits DEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP to 0.1 % by weight, individually or combined, in the plasticised material of all articles since 7 July 2020, and entry 52 limits DINP, DIDP and DNOP to the same level in toys and childcare articles that children can put in the mouth. Both entries are explained, with their exemptions, on REACH Annex XVII restrictions, and neither one names DOTP.

Is DOTP REACH registered, and is it an SVHC?#

Yes, DOTP is registered under REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006), and no, it is not a Substance of Very High Concern: it is absent from the Candidate List as of 22 September 2026. The registration is active under ECHA dossier 15238, and the tonnage band is not captured in our source library, so this page states none.

The contrast with the ortho-phthalate that DOTP replaces is exact. DEHP has been on the SVHC Candidate List since 28 October 2008, first for reproductive toxicity under Article 57(c) and later also for endocrine-disrupting properties under Article 57(f), and DOTP has never been added to it.

Is DOTP allowed in food-contact plastics?#

Yes, in the EU: DOTP is listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 as FCM substance 798 with a specific migration limit of 60 mg/kg, which is 100 times the 0.6 mg/kg limit that applies to DEHP since Regulation (EU) 2023/1442. DOTP also falls under group restriction 32, the plasticiser group carrying a total specific migration limit of 60 mg/kg that covers ESBO, DEHP, DINP, DIDP, DINCH and DOTP together, so the individual limit and the group total apply at the same time.

Two further limits belong to the finished article rather than to the substance. The overall migration limit is 10 mg/dm2, or 60 mg/kg for articles intended for infants and young children, and it is tested against food simulants before any substance-specific limit is applied. Group restriction 32 and the overall migration limit are explained on EU 10/2011. The US route is separate and now verified. DOTP is cleared under 21 CFR 177.1210(b)(5) as a plasticizer at up to 75 parts per hundred of the vinyl chloride resin in closures with sealing gaskets, for food types I, II, IV-B, VI-A, VI-B, VI-C up to 15 percent alcohol, VII-B and VIII under conditions of use A through H, and it is the subject of five effective food contact notifications: FCN 770 (Eastman, effective 12 January 2008), FCN 1056 (Eastman, 13 April 2011), FCN 1473 (BASF, 4 November 2014), FCN 1778 (BASF, 14 June 2017) and FCN 2468 (Valtris, 25 February 2026). Those notifications cover up to 55 weight percent of finished plasticized PVC in repeated-use articles at not more than 100 °C, up to 15 weight percent in repeated-use nitrile rubber, paper and paperboard for dry food under 21 CFR 176.180, adhesives under 21 CFR 175.105 and pressure-sensitive adhesives under 21 CFR 175.125. A notification binds only the notifier named in it and that notifier's customers, which is why this page never writes the phrase FDA approved.

Is DOTP allowed in toys and childcare articles?#

DOTP is not restricted in toys under EU REACH Annex XVII, US 16 CFR 1307 or Canada's SOR/2016-188, because none of those three rules lists it. The US rule restricts 8 phthalates above 0.1 %: DEHP, DBP and BBP permanently, and DINP, DIBP, DPENP, DHEXP and DCHP from 25 April 2018. The Canadian regulation restricts 6: DEHP, DBP and BBP in the vinyl of toys and child care articles, and DINP, DIDP and DNOP in mouthable parts.

One future EU rule works by property rather than by list. The Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 bans CMR substances and endocrine disruptors in toys and applies from 1 August 2030, and DOTP carries no harmonised CMR classification under CLP Annex VI. The 8 restricted phthalates and the concentration limit that applies to them are listed on CPSIA phthalate limits.

Is DOTP listed under California Proposition 65?#

DOTP is not on the Proposition 65 list: it does not appear on the OEHHA list edition of 31 July 2026, checked on 25 September 2026. DEHP, by contrast, has been listed since 1 January 1988 for cancer and since 24 October 2003 for developmental and male reproductive toxicity, and DINP has been listed for cancer since 20 December 2013 with a no significant risk level of 146 µg per day. Listing dates for all plasticizers are on California Proposition 65.

Is DOTP Safe? Health, Safety and Environmental Profile#

DOTP has no harmonised hazard classification under the EU CLP Regulation, and 375 of the 376 companies that notified it to ECHA report that it does not meet the GHS hazard criteria. That is a classification statement rather than a safety verdict, and this page publishes no LD50 value, no NOAEL value and no unqualified claim that the substance is safe, non-toxic or eco-friendly, because none of those figures or claims is in our source library.

The 3 evidence lines that assessors use for DOTP are listed below.

• Classification: no entry in CLP Annex VI, no SVHC listing, no POPs listing, and industry self-classification as not classified by 375 of 376 notifiers.
• Metabolism: terephthalates do not form the stable monoester that is linked to ortho-phthalate toxicity, which is the mechanistic reason the para isomer is assessed separately from the ortho isomer.
• Assessments: the Danish Environmental Protection Agency names DEHT among the 3 most promising alternatives to classified phthalates, together with DINCH and COMGHA.

Consumer concern does not cross the isomer boundary by itself. The reproductive and endocrine findings that drive phthalate regulation belong to named ortho-phthalates such as DEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP, each of which carries its own harmonised classification, and the summary on phthalates: health effects sets out which finding attaches to which substance. DOTP is assessed on its own dossier, and that dossier carries no harmonised classification.

What Are the Alternatives to DOTP?#

The 4 main alternatives to DOTP in flexible PVC are DINP, DINCH, TOTM and the hydrogenated terephthalate DEHCH, while DEHP (DOP) is the ortho-phthalate that DOTP most often replaces. Each of them differs from DOTP in one decisive column of the table below: legal status for DINP, food-contact listing for TOTM, ring chemistry for DINCH and DEHCH, and hazard classification for DEHP.

Table T6. DOTP compared with DEHP, DINP, TOTM and DINCH.

Footnote: substitution factor values are typical figures from one secondary source (Kanademy), not supplier data.

Full property data for the five esters, including the columns this table leaves out, sit on the plasticizer comparison page.

DOTP vs DOP (DEHP): which plasticizer is better?#

DOTP is the better choice for most new flexible PVC compounds, because it performs almost like DOP at a typical substitution factor of 1.03 against 1.00 without DOP's Repr. 1B classification, SVHC listing or REACH authorisation requirement. The technical gap is 3 % more ester for the same Shore A hardness; the legal gap is the distance between an unrestricted substance and one that needs an authorisation for almost every article use in the European Union.

DOP keeps a narrow remaining niche rather than a market. DEHP has required REACH authorisation for EU use since the sunset date of 21 February 2015, is limited to 0.1 % in the plasticised material of all articles since 7 July 2020, and carries a food-contact migration limit of 0.6 mg/kg against the 60 mg/kg that applies to DOTP. Its one dated exception is medical devices, where the latest application date is 1 January 2029 and the sunset date 1 July 2030 under Regulation (EU) 2023/2482. Outside the European Union, DOP stays in use where no equivalent restriction applies, which is why the two esters still appear side by side in global price reporting.

DOTP vs DINP#

DOTP and DINP are both general-purpose PVC plasticizers of similar efficiency, with typical substitution factors of 1.03 and 1.04, but DINP is an ortho-phthalate restricted in mouthable toys in the EU and in children's products in the US, while DOTP is not. DINP is also the heavier molecule at 418.6 g/mol against 390.6 g/mol, and it is a UVCB substance registered under two CAS numbers, 28553-12-0 and 68515-48-0.

The regulatory columns separate the two further. DINP (diisononyl phthalate) is restricted only in mouthable toys and childcare articles under REACH Annex XVII entry 52 and is not banned in the EU, sits in EU 10/2011 group restriction 26 with DIDP at a total specific migration limit of 1.8 mg/kg, has been on the Proposition 65 list for cancer since 20 December 2013, has been restricted in US children's products since 25 April 2018 under 16 CFR 1307, and is cleared for US food contact at up to 43 wt% of vinyl chloride polymers under 21 CFR 178.3740. The US EPA found unreasonable risk to workers only, in 4 spray-application conditions of use, in the final TSCA risk evaluation notified on 15 January 2025 (90 FR 3828).

DOTP vs TOTM#

TOTM is the heat-resistant partner of DOTP rather than its direct competitor: its three ester arms and molecular weight of 546.8 g/mol give lower volatility for high-temperature cable and low-fogging automotive parts, at a typical substitution factor of 1.11. The efficiency penalty is about 8 % more ester than DOTP for the same hardness.

Thermal data place the two esters in the same upper group. Kaya and colleagues (Polymers, 2026) measured a decomposition onset of 262 °C (503.6 °F) for TOTM at 50 phr against 236 °C (456.8 °F) for DOA, with TOTM and DOTP both about 7 °C (about 13 °F) above the other plasticized samples in the series. TOTM (trioctyl trimellitate) is not listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, so a food-contact application that DOTP covers under FCM 798 is not covered by TOTM under that regulation.

DOTP vs DINCH and DEHCH#

DINCH and DEHCH are ring-hydrogenated plasticizers: DINCH is hydrogenated DINP and DEHCH is hydrogenated DOTP, so in both cases the aromatic ring becomes a cyclohexane ring. Hydrogenation removes the aromatic character that phthalate screening methods detect, and it lowers polarity, which changes compatibility and low-temperature behaviour rather than legal status.

The two hydrogenated esters differ in maturity and in food-contact listing. DINCH (Hexamoll DINCH) carries CAS 166412-78-8 outside the United States and 474919-59-0 for the US product, has a molecular weight of 424.7 g/mol, and is listed in EU 10/2011 as FCM 775 with no individual specific migration limit under group restriction 32, which makes it the established choice for medical devices, toys and food packaging. DEHCH (CAS 84731-70-4, 396.6 g/mol) is the 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate that Hanwha Solutions sells as Eco-DEHCH, it is used in flooring, wallcovering and toys, and it is not listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.

Who Manufactures DOTP? Grades and Suppliers#

DOTP is made by 3 global plasticizer producers recorded in our source library, Eastman (Eastman 168), BASF (Palatinol DOTP) and Nan Ya Plastics, and Nan Ya sells it as a general grade and two insulation grades, class A and class B. A fourth trade name, Kodaflex DOTP, appears in the literature without a brand owner recorded in our source library, so this page lists the name and leaves the owner cell open.

Table T7. DOTP producers, trade names and grades.

Footnote: we list a company only where our source library records it. The Nan Ya grade names were read from the producer's product page on 22 September 2026.

More producers, their regions and their product lines are listed in our directory of plasticizer manufacturers, which carries the company records that this table leaves open.

No absolute DOTP price level sits in our source library, so this page publishes none. ResourceWise reports in its 2025 review and 2026 outlook that Chinese DOTP capacity is expanding and that the 2026 market faces ample supply against flat demand, and the drivers behind those movements are tracked on plasticizer prices. Buyers should request the supplier's technical data sheet, safety data sheet and a written phthalate-content statement, because a phthalate-free declaration on a certificate means the absence of ortho-phthalates and not the absence of terephthalate esters.

How Do Terephthalates Fit into the Wider Plasticizer Family?#

DOTP is the main member of the terephthalate class of plasticizers, the para-ester group that sits beside ortho-phthalates, trimellitates, cyclohexanoates and adipates in a family that consumes 8.4 million tonnes a year worldwide according to European Plasticisers. More than 85 % of European plasticizer use goes into flexible PVC, so the class boundaries drawn here are boundaries inside one polymer market rather than across many. The class as a whole is covered on terephthalate plasticizers.

Dibutyl terephthalate (DBT) and other terephthalate esters#

Dibutyl terephthalate (DBT, CAS 1962-75-0) is the short-chain terephthalate: a fast-fusing non-ortho-phthalate plasticizer registered under REACH at 1,000 to 10,000 tonnes per year. Its formula is C16H22O4 and its molecular weight 278.34 g/mol, which is 112.26 g/mol lighter than DOTP, and the ECHA plastic-additives mapping exercise records typical concentrations of 10 to 35 wt% in soft PVC and polyurethane. DBT is not listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.

Two further esters complete the ring-isomer picture. DiPT, sold by Evonik as Elatur DPT, is used as a replacement for DBP and DIBP, and DOIP (CAS 137-89-3) is the minor meta isomer that shares the DOTP formula. The short-chain member of the class has its own page at dibutyl terephthalate (DBT).

What are the three types of plasticizers?#

Plasticizer suppliers such as Hallstar group specialty plasticizers into 3 types: low-temperature, high-temperature and permanent (polymeric), with general-purpose esters such as DOTP, DEHP and DINP forming the commodity group beside them. The 3 specialty groups are listed below.

• Low-temperature plasticizers, such as aliphatic diesters, glycol esters and oleates, which hold flexibility below freezing.
• High-temperature plasticizers, such as trimellitates and pentaerythritol esters, which resist volatilisation and fogging.
• Permanent plasticizers, the polymerics built from alternating C4 to C10 dibasic acids and C2 to C5 glycols, which resist extraction.

A second division cuts across the first. A primary plasticizer such as DOTP is compatible enough to soften PVC alone, while a secondary plasticizer or extender has to be blended with a primary one. All classes are compared on the hub for types of plasticizers.

DOTP trade: antidumping duties and capacity#

The United States applies antidumping duties to DOTP imported from Turkey, Malaysia, Taiwan and Poland, which is one reason DOTP prices differ by country of origin. ResourceWise reports that duty picture in its 2025 review, together with expanding Chinese DOTP capacity and a 2026 outlook of ample supply against flat demand. No customs tariff code for DOTP is recorded in our source library, so this page prints no HS code. Duty orders by origin are listed under plastic additive trade.

Is DOTP banned anywhere?#

No: DOTP is not banned or restricted under the EU, US or Canadian rules covered on this page, as of 22 September 2026. It carries no REACH Annex XVII entry, no POPs listing and no place among the 8 phthalates of 16 CFR 1307 or the 6 of SOR/2016-188. Country rules are compared on phthalate restrictions worldwide.

Can DOTP replace DOP one-to-one?#

Almost: at a typical substitution factor of 1.03, about 51.5 phr DOTP matches the hardness of 50 phr DOP, so a small upward correction is usual rather than a full reformulation. The correction is arithmetic, the factor is a typical figure from one secondary source, and the heat stabilizer package still has to be confirmed on the new compound. The numbers can be run in the plasticizer substitution calculator.

Does DOTP need an SDS?#

Yes: suppliers provide a safety data sheet for DOTP as for any traded chemical, even though the substance carries no harmonised CLP classification. A data sheet that reports no hazard classification in section 2 is still the document that records identity, handling, storage and the supplier's own assessment.