Tetralin (CAS NO. ) was washed with successive portions of conc H₂SO₄ until the acid layer no longer became coloured, then washed with aq 10% Na₂CO₃, and then distd water. After that, it is dried (CaSO₄ or Na₂SO₄), filtered, refluxed and fractionally distd at under reduced pressure from sodium or BaO. It can also be purified by repeated fractional freezing.

Bass  freed tetralin, purified as above, from naphthalene and other impurities by conversion to ammonium tetralin-6-sulfonate. Conc H₂SO₄ (150mL) was added slowly to stirred tetralin (272mL) which was then heated on a water bath for about 2h to give complete soln. The warm mixture, when poured into aq NH₄Cl soln (120g in 400mL water), gave a white ppte which, after filtering off, was crystd from boiling water, washed with 50% aq EtOH and dried at 100 °C. Evapn of its boiling aq soln on a steam bath removed traces of naphthalene. The pure salt (229g) was mixed with conc H₂SO₄ (266mL) and steam distd from an oil bath at 165-170 °C. An ether extract of the distillate was washed with aq Na₂SO₄, and the ether was evapd, prior to distilling the tetralin from sodium. Tetralin has also been purified via barium tetralin-6-sulfonate, conversion to the sodium salt and decomposition in 60% H₂SO₄ using superheated steam.