Butyl acetate
Butyl acetate, also known as butyl ethanoate, 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.
Contents
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.
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
