Ethylidene diacetate

Updated on Dec 21, 2024

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Appearance Colorless liquid

Ethylidene diacetate is an organic compound with the formula (CH₃CO₂)₂CHCH₃. A colorless low-melting solid, it once served as a precursor to vinyl acetate.

Preparation

A major industrial route involves the reaction of acetaldehyde and acetic anhydride in the presence of a ferric chloride catalyst:

CH₃CHO + (CH₃CO)₂O → (CH₃CO₂)₂CHCH₃

It can be converted to the valuable monomer vinyl acetate by thermal elimination of acetic acid:

(CH₃CO₂)₂CHCH₃ → CH₃CO₂CH=CH₂ + CH₃CO₂H

References

Ethylidene diacetate Wikipedia

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