Table of contents:
Chemical Properties Colorless liquid
Molecular formula C2H3N
Molar mass 41.05 g mol?1
Appearance colorless liquid
Density 0.786 g/mL liquid
Melting point ?45 °C
Boiling point 82 °C
Solubility in water miscible
Solubility organic solvents
Acidity (pKa) 25
Flash point 2 °C
It is widely used as a polar aprotic solvent in synthetic chemistry, and as a medium-polarity solvent in HPLC.
Acetonitrile is a by-product from the manufacture of acrylonitrile.Production trends for acetonitrile thus generally follow those of acrylonitrile. Acetonitrile can also be produced by many other methods, but these are of no commercial importance as of 2002. Illustrative routes are by dehydration of acetamide or by hydrogenation of mixtures of carbon monoxide and ammonia.The four main producers of acetonitrile in the world are: INEOS, DuPont, Panreac, and J.T. Baker Chemical. In 1992, 32.3 million pounds of acetonitrile were produced in the US.
Acetonitrile has only a modest toxicity,but it can be metabolised to produce hydrogen cyanide.
RTECS number AL7700000
Hazard Codes F,Xi,Xn,T
Risk Statements 11-36-20/21/22-10-36/37/38-23/24/25-41-24-20/22
Safety Statements 16-36/37-45-36/37/39-27-26-36
RIDADR UN 1993 3/PG 3
WGK Germany 2
F 9
Hazard Note Highly Flammable/Harmful/Irritant
HazardClass 3
