Again, there is an instance where I stock small amount of methanol, but I can get ethanol OTC cheaply. Closest store that supplies methanol is over
200km away and shows 0 on stock. This might be a bit of a general side of question, but how subtitutable ethanol is for methanol as a reaction
solvent? I know for a fact that it works well for many reactions where ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, etc can be used in a very similar manner. The
reaction is not water sensitive at all, actually the opposite, so 95% ethanol would not be an issue in any extent.
Could I simply test this by attempting to dissolve a little amount of reactants and see how it goes from there, and then scale up if all is ok?Oxy - 21-7-2021 at 12:25
I used absolute ethanol with success as a replacement of methanol as a solvent. However, for some reactions where solvent polarity was a key factor
the difference in yield was very visible.
A significant water content may not affect the reaction itself but can make the process worse by decreasing of solubility of compounds which are not
soluble in water but are soluble in methanol or ethanol.Amos - 21-7-2021 at 17:18
The best way to get a specific answer is to ask a specific question. Any idea what reaction you'll be attempting should you proceed with ethanol?zed - 21-7-2021 at 17:39
Sometimes they are interchangable, and sometimes they aren't.
It depends on the reaction.unionised - 21-7-2021 at 23:55
