Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Safely storing Diethyl ether

nelsonB - 7-4-2019 at 11:03

Hi
i was wondering if a steel F-style jugs with some sodium hydroxide to prevent peroxide formation would be enought for ether. if no tell me what would be your idea.



[Edited on 7-4-2019 by nelsonB]

happyfooddance - 7-4-2019 at 12:54

If you can store it in a freezer it helps. I would be cautious about metal-on-metal lids, I might be wrong but I feel that would perhaps ignite trace peroxides (which form on threads/parts exposed to air) more easily than glass or plastics/ptfe.

But I have stored bottles of ether for years in the freezer without problems. The ether was freshly distilled before storage, however, but without stabilizer.

DavidJR - 7-4-2019 at 13:42

Add a stabilizer like BHT.

Tsjerk - 8-4-2019 at 02:43

Or a bit of ethanol, should work as long as you don't want to do Grignards with it.

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=145410

DavidJR - 8-4-2019 at 04:11

Quote: Originally posted by Tsjerk  
Or a bit of ethanol, should work as long as you don't want to do Grignards with it.

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=145410


I'm not convinced that ethanol would be effective in preventing peroxide formation and even if it is, addition of ethanol severely limits what you can do with the ether.

MrHomeScientist - 8-4-2019 at 08:27

Does the BHT interfere with some reactions? Does the solvent need to be distilled to remove it, before use?
In my case, I have tetralin that I wanted to use for the Mg-catalyzed potassium synthesis. I bought BHT for storing it, but haven't added it yet. I hear this particular peroxide is pretty benign?

Mr. Rogers - 8-4-2019 at 08:59

The best way I think, is to buy several small bottles rather than one large one, and keep them in a freezer. I wouldn't feel comfortable storing a gallon of ether in a paint can like that honestly.

Mr. Rogers - 8-4-2019 at 09:06

You can get Et2O in small quantities in Al bottles with two piece caps that come hermetically sealed. I think that's the best way to store it if you have to.

DavidJR - 9-4-2019 at 04:45

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist  
Does the BHT interfere with some reactions? Does the solvent need to be distilled to remove it, before use?
In my case, I have tetralin that I wanted to use for the Mg-catalyzed potassium synthesis. I bought BHT for storing it, but haven't added it yet. I hear this particular peroxide is pretty benign?


Theoretically it could do, but the concentration required to stabilise it is pretty damn low, so it's rarely a problem. Also consider that the peroxides, aside from being a safety concern, can potentially interfere in some reactions.