Butyl acetate

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Butyl acetate, also known as butyl ethanoate or n-butyl acetate, is an organic compound, an ester between acetic acid and butanol commonly used as a solvent.

It has 3 other isomers: isobutyl acetate, sec-butyl acetate and tert-butyl acetate. IUPAC nomenclature specifies that the butyl acetate name must only be used for the n isomer.

Properties

Chemical

Butyl acetate will hydrolyze under alkali conditions to give butanol and acetic acid or an acetate salt.

Physical

Butyl acetate is a colorless flammable liquid, with a fruity smell. It is poorly soluble in water (0.68 g/100 ml at 20 °C), but miscible in ethanol and soluble in chloroform and acetone. It boils at 126.1 °C and freezes at −78 °C.

Availability

Butyl acetate can be purchased from many chemical suppliers, such as ScienceStuff.

Butyl acetate is also found in paint thinners, usually mixed with toluene or acetone. It can be extracted via fractional distillation.

Preparation

Butyl acetate is synthesized via the Fischer esterification of n-butanol and acetic acid with the presence of catalytic sulfuric acid under reflux.

Projects

  • Make synthetic fruit flavors
  • Organic solvent

Handling

Safety

Storage

Disposal

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads