MESITYL OXIDE

PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION

CAS NO. 141-79-7

MESITYL OXIDE

EINECS NO. 205-502-5
FORMULA (CH3)2C=CHCOCH3
MOL WT. 98.14
H.S. CODE  

TOXICITY

 
SYNONYMS Isobutenyl methyl ketone; Methyl isobutenyl ketone;
1-Isobutenyl methyl ketone; 4-Methyl-3-penten-2-one; 4-Methylpent-3-en-2-one; Isopropylidene acetone; 4-Metilpent-3-en-2-ona; 4-Méthylpent-3-ène-2-one; 2-methyl-2-penten-4-one;

DERIVATION

 

CLASSIFICATION

 

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

PHYSICAL STATE Clear liquid, with peppermint or honey-like odor
MELTING POINT - 59 C
BOILING POINT

130 C

SPECIFIC GRAVITY 0.865
SOLUBILITY IN WATER Slightly soluble
pH

 

VAPOR DENSITY 3.39
AUTOIGNITION

344 C

NFPA RATINGS Health: 2; Flammability: 3; Instability: 1

REFRACTIVE INDEX

 
FLASH POINT

30 C

STABILITY

Stable at ordinary conditions.

APPLICATIONS

Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK) is a clear liquid with a mild characteristic odor; miscible in oil, soluble in water. MIBK is a polar solvent. But the polarity is similar to ethyl acetate. Water solubility is not good compare to other ketone solvents like acetone and MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). This property makes MIBK an useful liquid-liquid extraction solvent. MIBK is produced from acetone with hydrogen by three-step process (aldol condensation, dehydration, hydrogenation). Aiacetone alcohol (CAS #: 123-42-2) and mesityl oxide (CAS #: 141-79-7) are intermediate products during the process. The basic unit quantity of acetone to produce 1 unit of MIBK is 1.22. MIBK has good compatibility with various organic reagents and solvency power for a variety industrial materials. It is primarily used in cellulose-based and resin-based coatings and adhesives. It is also employed in rare-metal extraction. It is used in dewaxing to purify pharmaceuticals, mineral oils, fatty acids, and alcohols. MIBK is also an useful intermediate to produce target molecules, rubber antiozonants (e.g. 6PPD) and acetylenic diol compounds are examples of end products.

Diacetone alcohol has slow evaporation rates. It is used as a solvent for both hydrogen bonding and polar substances. It is miscible in water and used as a solvent for water-based coatings. It is used as a solvent extractant in purification processes for resins and waxes. Diacetone alcohol is more suitable for use in applications as a component of gravure printing inks, with proving favorable flow and leveling characteristics. Diacetone alcohol, having hydroxyl and carbonyl group in the same molecule is used as a chemical intermediate.

Mesityl oxide, a carbonyl compound having alpha (or beta) unsaturated chain, can be used as a raw material to produce drugs, solvents and plasticizer. Mesityl oxide is used to produce hydroperoxides. Mesityl oxide is as an extractant in ore flotation especially for actinide series elements (thorium and uranium).

SALES SPECIFICATION

APPEARANCE

Clear liquid

CONTENT (alpha)

90.0% min
ISOMER

10.0% max

WATER

0.1% max

ACIDITY

0.02% max

COLOR, APHA

40 max

TRANSPORTATION
PACKING 180kgs in drum
HAZARD CLASS 3 (Packing Group: III)
UN NO. 1229
OTHER INFORMATION
European Hazard Symbols: XN, Risk Phrases: 10-20/21/22, Safety Phrases: 9-16-25-33
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SOLVENT
Solvent is a substance, usually a liquid, that acts as a dissolving agent or that is capable of dissolving another substance. In solutions of solids or gases in a liquid, the liquid is the solvent. In all other homogeneous mixtures (i.e., liquids, solids, or gases dissolved in liquids; solids in solids; and gases in gases), solvent is the component of the greatest amount. The minor proportion substances are called solutes. The solvent offers several functions during a chemical reaction. It solves not only the substance that reacts with another one to produce a new set of substances (reactant) but also the compound that supplies the molecule, ion, or free radical, which is considered as the attacking species in a chemical reaction (reagent). The solvent is conductive to collisions between the reactants and reagents to transform the reactants to new products. The solvent also takes roll of temperature control, either to provide the energy of the colliding particles for speedy reaction and to absorb heat in exothermic reaction. The appropriate solvent should be selected based on the inactivity in the reaction conditions, dissolving the reagents as well as reactants, appropriate boiling point and easy removal at the end of the reaction.

Polarity

The most common solvent is water. Other common solvents which dissolve substances that are insoluble (or nearly insoluble) in water are acetone, alcohol, formic acid, acetic acid, formamide. BTX, carbon disulfide, diemthyl sulfoxide, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, ether, tetrahydrofuran, furfural, hexane and turpentine. They may be classified as polar and non-polar. Polar solvents, like water, have molecules whose electric charges are unequally distributed, leaving one end of each molecule more positive than the other. Usually polar solvent has O-H bond of which water (HOH), (CH3OH) and acetic acid (CH3COOH) are examples. Propanol, butanol, formic acid, formamide are polar solvents. Dipolar solvents which contain a C-O double bond without O-H bond are acetone [(CH3)2C=O], ethyl acetate (CH3COOCH2CH3), methyl ethyl ketone, acetonitrile, N,N-dimethylformamide and diemthyl sulfoxide. Nonpolar solvents, like carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), benzene (C6H6), and diethyl ether ( CH3CH2OCH2CH3), have molecules whose electric charges are equally distributed and are not miscible with water. Hexane, tetrahydrofuran and methylene chloride are non-polar solvents. Polar solvents are hydrophilic but non-polar solvents are lipophilic. Polar reactants will dissolve in polar solvents. Non-polar solvents dissolve non-polar compounds best. Oil and water don't mix but separate into two layers. There are three measures of the polarity as "dipole moment", "dielectric constant" and "miscibility with water". Though low dipole moments and small dielectric constants indicates non-polar solvents, sharp boundaries between polar and non-polar solvents are not available. The polarity reflects the balance between a polar component (OH) and a non-polar hydrocarbon component, existing in the same molecule. If hydrocarbon character increases relatively, the polarity decreases. On an operational basis, solvents that are miscible with water are polar.

Polar Protic and Dipolar Aprotic

Protic refers to a hydrogen atom attached to an electronegative atom. Protic solvents can donate an H+ (proton) since they contain dissociable H+, such as hydrogen attached to oxygen as in a hydroxyl group, nitrogen as in a amine group. Examples are water, methanol, ethanol, formic acid, hydrogen fluoride and ammonia. Aprotic solvents don't has O-H bond but a C=O bond typically. Examples are acetone [(CH3)2C=O] and ethyl acetate (CH3COOCH2CH3). Polar protic solvents are useful in SN1 reaction, while polar aprotic solvents are SN2 reaction.

Solvents
Boiling point C
Dipole Moment
Dielectric Constant

Density (g/ml)

Polar Protic

Water
100
1.85
80

0.998

Methanol
68
1.70
33

0.791

Ethanol
78
1.69
24.3

0.789

n-Propanol
97
1.68
20.1

0.803

n-Butanol
118
1.66
17.8

0.810

Formic acid
100
1.41
58

1.21

Acetic acid
118
1.74
6.15

1.049

Formamide
210
3.73
109
1.134

Polar Aprotic

Acetone
56
2.88
20.7

0.786

Tetrahydrofuran
66
1.63
7.52

0.886

Methyl ethyl ketone
80
2.78
18.5

0.805

Ethyl acetate
78
1.78
6.02

0.894

Acetonitrile
81
3.92
36.6

0.786

N,N-Dimethylformamide
153
3.82
38.3

0.944

Diemthyl sulfoxide
189
3.96
47.2

1.092

Non-Polar

Hexane
69
-
2.02

0.655

Benzene
80
0
2.28

0.879

Diethyl ether
35
1.15
4.34

0.713

Methylene chloride
40
1.60
9.08

1.326

Carbon tetrachloride
76
0
2.24
1.594