Jinc8 - 31-7-2022 at 07:40
I recently found a paint thinner that's "75-100%" n-butyl acetate. Since a diethyl ether synthesis seems really dangerous to do at the current 35
degree weather outside (inside too but I'm not going there) wouldn't dibutyl Ether be a safer alternative for me to try my hands on an ether
synthesis?
Now, I have some questions: is n-Bu2O a good alternative for diethyl ether (not really planning to do gringnard, just as a solvent)?
Is it safer in terms of peroxide formation/storage/flammability?
[Edited on 31-7-2022 by Jinc8]
Texium - 31-7-2022 at 07:52
I wouldn’t call it a good alternative, considering its boiling point is 141°C. That’s not something that can be easily evaporated off. It would
have the same susceptibility to peroxide formation. Because it’s much less volatile, I would expect flammability to be less of an issue. Otherwise,
solvent properties and reactivity are probably similar to Et2O, but the high boiling point is really a big downside.
Jinc8 - 31-7-2022 at 11:18
Thanks. I might still try it in a smaller scale just for the sake of making an ether.
Another quick unrelated question, is stirring that necessary for organic reactions? At least in smaller batches, I believe that the agitation caused
by simply refluxing would be enough..?
Texium - 31-7-2022 at 12:14
In theory, refluxing should provide enough agitation, at least if you have a monophasic, homogeneous solution, but generally stirring is still used
with refluxing in order to prevent bumping. If you are unable to stir the mixture, you should still at least use boiling chips.
teodor - 4-8-2022 at 05:29
As far as I remember, I had a very moderate yield of n-Bu2O following the procedure from Vogel. The most abundant byproduct was probably just alcohol
- it took a relatively big amount of Na metal to purify the product. It would be interesting to read about your results.
I am not sure about "safer" because dibutyl ether autoignition temperature is 175 (according to Wikipedia) which is just 34 degrees higher than its
boiling temperature which is something quite unusual and probably requires double attention during distillation.
Jinc8 - 15-8-2022 at 12:13
Wow that auto-ignition temp does look scary, I somehow forgot to check that.. I suppose I'll just wait a bit and make diethyl ether in the winter.