Methyl formate

  • Methyl
  • Formic acid methyl ester
  • Methylmethanoat
  • R611
  • Areginal

Colorless liquid with a pleasant odor

Liquid

0.97 g · cm -3

-100 ° C

32 ° C.

638 hPa ( 20 ° C)

Good in water ( 300 g · l-1 at 20 ° C)

1.3419 (20 ° C)

Risk

120 mg · m-3

475 mg · kg -1 ( LD50, rat, oral)

-386.1 KJ / mol

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search available

Methyl formate ( methyl formate, or formic acid and methyl ester) is a chemical compound with the formula C2H4O2 and the molecular weight of 60.05 g / mol. It is the methyl ester of formic acid, which is the simplest members of this group.

Properties

Methyl formate is a colorless liquid with a pleasant odor, the odor threshold is 500-68750 mg/m3. It shows a very small surface tension.

With water, the ester is limited miscible (~ 1:3 ), these mixtures decompose relatively rapidly in reverse formation reaction to methanol and formic acid.

Methyl formate is highly flammable, the flashpoint is according to DIN 51755 at -28 ° C, and a slightly water polluting substance.

Production

Industrially, methyl formate is obtained by the reaction of methanol with carbon monoxide, with a strong base such as sodium methylate is used as catalyst:

And the reaction of methanol with formic acid can be used for the production of small quantities, but only with a limited yield:

Due to the light as compared to other carboxylic acids Dehydratisierbarkeit of formic acid in this case may, however, not strong desiccant such as conc. Sulfuric acid can be used.

Recent work methyl formate is obtained by oxidative coupling of nanoporous gold as a catalyst at low temperatures and with high selectivity.

Use

Methyl ester is used as a solvent for various natural and synthetic resins, as it due to its great volatility this can dry very quickly. It is also used as an insecticide and as a refrigerant ( R611 ). Under the trade name Areginal ethyl formate was used from 1925 to about 1960 in the protection of stored products for fumigation.

It is also of importance in the synthesis of formic acid:

  • From the cheap basic chemicals methanol and carbon monoxide methyl ester is prepared.
  • By addition of water under vigorous conditions the ester easily quantitatively hydrolyzed to methanol and formic acid ( " hydrolyzed "). Since methanol occurs bottom line as a reactant and as a product, it acts as a kind of catalyst for the hydration of CO. Also serves for the production of methyl formamide, dimethyl formamide and various drugs. Instead of water, it can be - used in solar collectors to take advantage of these economic to generate electricity - due to the low boiling point and lower heat of vaporization.

Can also be produced from methyl diphosgene, in which one is chlorinated under ultraviolet light:

CAS registry number PubChem Vapor pressure Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC) Chemical classification Flash point Dehydration reaction Product (chemistry) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Digital Object Identifier Integrated Authority File
55697
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