Density 975 kg/m³ Formula C5H10O3 Appearance Clear liquid | Molar mass 118.13 g/mol Melting point -43 °C | |
Ester reactions of ester diethyl carbonate to carbinol lecture
Diethyl carbonate is a carbonate ester of carbonic acid and ethanol with the formula OC(OCH2CH3)2. At room temperature (25 °C) diethyl carbonate is a clear liquid with a low flash point.
Contents
Diethyl carbonate is used as a solvent such as in erythromycin intramuscular injections. It can be used as a component of electrolytes in lithium batteries.
Production
It can be made by reacting phosgene with ethanol, producing hydrogen chloride as a byproduct. Because chloroform can react with oxygen to form phosgene, chloroform is stabilized for storage by adding 1 part (by mass) of ethanol to 100 parts (by mass) of chloroform, so that any phosgene that forms is converted into diethyl carbonate.
2CH3CH2OH + COCl2 → OC(OCH2CH3)2 + 2HCl
References
Diethyl carbonate Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA