Detailed Product Description:

A water-white liquid with an ethereal odor.  Soluble in water and organic

solvents.  Commonly used as a solvent for natural and synthetic resins

(particularly PVC’s).

Grade/Purity:

This is reagent grade material with minimum purity of 99.9%.  Contains

BHT stabilizer.

Background:

Tetrahydrofuran (THF) is a colorless, water-miscible organic liquid with

low viscosity at standard temperature and pressure.  As one of the most

polar ethers with a wide liquid range, it is a useful solvent.  Its main use is

however as a precursor to polymers.  THF has an odor similar to its

chemical cousin, diethyl ether, but is a much less potent anesthetic than ether.

Applications

The main application of THF is as an industrial solvent for PVC and in

varnishes.  It is an aprotic solvent with a dielectric constant of 7.6.  It is

a moderately polar solvent and can dissolve a wide range of nonpolar and

polar chemical compounds.  THF is water-miscible, and can form solid

clathrate hydrate structures with water at low temperatures.

THF is a popular solvent in the laboratory when a higher-boiling ethereal

solvent is required and its water miscibility is not an issue.  THF is a cyclic

ether, whereas diethyl ether is acyclic, so each have an oxygen atom with

two carbon substituents.  Like diethyl ether, THF can be used in hydroboration

reactions to synthesize primary alcohols, and as a solvent for organometallic

compounds such as organolithium and Grignard reagents.

Although similar to ether, THF is a stronger base.  Thus, while diethyl ether

remains the solvent of choice for some reactions (e.g., Grignard reactions),

THF fills that role in many others where strong coordination is desirable, and

the precise properties of ethereal solvents such as these (alone and in mixtures

and at various temperatures) allows for fine-tuning modern chemical reactions.

THF is often used in polymer science.  For example, it can be used to dissolve

rubber prior to determining its molecular mass using gel permeation chromatography.  

THF dissolves PVC as well and is the main ingredient in PVC adhesives.  It can be

used to liquefy old PVC cement, and is often used industrially to degrease metal parts.

Precautions:

Extremely flammable—dangerous fire risk.  Considered a relatively

nontoxic solvent, with the median lethal dose (LD50) comparable to

that of acetone.  Easily penetrates skin causing rapid dehydration.  

Readily dissolves latex and is typically handled with nitrile or neoprene

rubber gloves.

The greatest danger posed by THF follows from its tendency to form

highly-explosive peroxides on storage in air.  To minimize this problem,

commercial samples of THF are often inhibited with BHT.  THF should

not be distilled to dryness, because the explosive peroxides concentrate

in the residue.

                Click here to download copy of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

Packaging:

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