Detailed Product Description:

2-Butanol, or sec-butanol, is a secondary alcohol.  It is a flammable,

colorless liquid that is soluble in water and completely miscible with

polar organic solvent such as ethers and other alcohols.  

It is a colorless liquid with a vinous odor.  It is primarily used as a

solvent, as an intermediate in chemical synthesis, and as a fuel.

Grade/Purity:

This is Reagent Grade with minimum purity of 99.9%.

Production:

It is produced on a large scale, primarily as a precursor to the industrial

solvent methyl ethyl ketone.  2-Butanol is chiral and thus can be obtained

as either of two stereoisomers.  It is normally found as an equal mixture of

the two stereoisomers — referred to as a racemic mixture.  It is manufactured

industrially by the hydration of 1-butene or 2-butene using sulfuric acid as

a catalyst for this conversion.

Background:

There are four isomeric structures for butanol:

First, the unmodified term, butanol, usually refers to the straight chain

isomer with the alcohol functional group at the terminal carbon, which is also

known as n-butanol or 1-butanol. 

Second is the straight chain isomer with the alcohol at an internal carbon is

sec-butanol or 2-butanol. 

Third is the branched isomer with the alcohol at a terminal carbon is isobutanol,

or 2-methyl-1-propanol. 

And finally, the branched isomer with the alcohol at the internal carbon is

tert-butanol,  or 2-methyl-2-propanol.

Butanol isomers, due to their different structures, have somewhat different

melting and boiling points.  n-butanol and isobutanol have limited solubility,

while the other two isomers are fully miscible with water.  This is because all

alcohols have a hydroxyl group which makes them polar which in turn tends

to promote solubility in water.  At the same time, the carbon chain of the alcohol

resists solubility in water.  Methanol, ethanol, and propanol are fully miscible

with water, while n-butanol is only moderately miscible because of the balance

between the two opposing solubility trends.

Applications:

Although some 2-butanol is used as a solvent, most of the annual production

is converted to butanone ("MEK"), which is an important industrial solvent

found in many domestic cleaning agents and paint removers.  Volatile esters

of 2-butanol have pleasant aromas and are used in small amounts as perfumes

or in artificial flavors.

Precautions:

Like many alcohols, 2-butanol is considered toxic. It has shown a low order of

toxicity in single dose experiments to laboratory animals and is considered safe

enough for use in cosmetics.  Brief, repeated overexposure with the skin can

result in depression of the central nervous system, as with other short-chain

alcohols.  Exposure may also cause severe eye irritation and moderate skin

irritation.  The main dangers are from prolonged exposure to fumes.  In

extreme cases this includes suppression of the central nervous system and

even death.  Under most circumstances, butanol is quickly metabolized to

carbon dioxide.  It has not been shown to damage DNA or cause cancer.

Download, read, and understand the Material Safety Data Sheet and

the precautions associated with the use of this substance.

Click here to download MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

Packaging:

Comes packed in 500ml amber glass bottle.  Also available in 250ml size.