Before the development of modern medicines, ethanol was used for a variety of medical purposes.

Ethanol, also known as alcohol, is a colourless, flammable, volatile liquid with a strong alcoholic odor. It is a two carbon straight chain alcohol and a high octane, clean burning fuel. Ethanol can dissolve many organic compounds and some inorganic compounds. Using the common organic chemistry notation of representing the ethyl group (C₂H₅) with Et, Ethanol is often abbreviated as EtOH. As it is a primary alcohol, it has many kinds of reaction, such as: ester formation, dehydration, combustion, acid-base chemistry, halogenation, and oxidation.

Physical properties about Ethanol are: (1)ACD/LogP: -0.18; (2)ACD/LogD (pH 5.5): -0.18; (3)ACD/LogD (pH 7.4): -0.18; (4)ACD/BCF (pH 5.5): 1.00; (5)ACD/BCF (pH 7.4): 1.00; (6)ACD/KOC (pH 5.5): 19.00; (7)ACD/KOC (pH 7.4): 19.00; (8)#H bond acceptors: 1 ; (9)#H bond donors: 1; (10)#Freely Rotating Bonds: 1; (11)Index of Refraction:1.354; (12)Molar Refractivity: 12.85 cm³; (13)Molar Volume: 59.055 cm3; (14)Polarizability: 5.094 10-24cm³; (15)Surface Tension: 22.3859996795654 dyne/cm; (16)Density: 0.78 g/cm³; (17)Flash Point: 8.889 °C; (18)Enthalpy of Vaporization: 38.56 kJ/mol; (19)Boiling Point: 72.62 °C at 760 mmHg; (20)Vapour Pressure: 82.8190002441406 mmHg at 25°C

Preparation of Ethanol: Ethanol can be obtained by many methods.

1. Fermentation: The starch-rich agricultural products such as cereals, potatoes, etc., or wild fruits go through washing, crushing and cooking under pressure to make the starch gelatinization. Then add the right amount of water, and add amylase when the temperature is about 60 °C. The starch is hydrolyzed of maltose and glucose. Finally, add yeast to zymosis, then the ethanol is obtained.

2. Hydration: Ethanol is obtained by addition reaction from ethylene and water. Hydration includes indirect method and direct mathod. Indirect method is also known as sulfate method. The reaction has two steps. Firstly, 95-98% sulfuric acid and 50-60% ethylene (weight ratio 2:1) go through absorption reaction in a tower reactor to generate sulfate at 60-80 °C and 0.78-1 .96 MPa. The second step is the sulfate is hydrolyzed in the hydrolysis tower at 80-100 °C and 0.2-0 .29 MPa to obtain ethanol. At the same time, byproduct ether is generated. Alkene can react with water to get ethanol directly.

The direct hydration has one step. Ethylene is hydrated in the presence of phosphoric acid at hjgh temperature and pressure. This process is simple and low corrosive. It does not need special steel and has less byproduct ether, but it requires high purity ethylene and large power.

No matter fermentation or ethylene hydration, the obtained ethanol is usually the azeotrope of ethanol and water that is 95% industrial ethanol. In order to get absolute ethanol, the following methods can be used to further dehydration. (1) Using unslaked lime to treat industrial ethanol, make the water change to calcium hydroxide. Steam out ethanol, and then dry with metal sodium. This is the oldest method. (2) The commonly industrial method is dehydration of azeotropic distillation. (3) Use ion exchange agent or molecular sieve to dehydrate, and then rectify.

Uses of Ethanol:
1. The largest single use of ethanol is as a motor fuel and fuel additive. Some countries have started to use ethanol as automobile fuel alone or mixed into the gasoline (10%) to save gasoline. It may also be used as a rocket fuel, and is used in lightweight rocket-powered racing aircraft currently. Ethanol has three advantages, at least in theory: It's renewable, it can be domestically produced, and it burns cleaner than gas.

2. Ethanol, an important organic solvent, is widely used in medicine, paints, toilet articles, cosmetics, oils, etc. It accounts for about 50% of the total consumption. It is also used as solvent of adhesives, nitro spray paint, varnish, cosmetics, ink, paint strippers, etc.

3. Ethanol is also an important basic chemical raw material for the manufacture of acetaldehyde, ethylamine, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, ethyl chloride, etc., and derives many intermediate of pharmaceuticals, dyes, paints, fragrances, synthetic rubber, detergents, pesticides, etc. Its products are more than 300. But now, the use of ethanol as a chemical intermediate decreases gradually. Many products such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid, ethyl ethanol no longer use ethanol as raw material, but use other raw materials instead.

4. 75% Ethanol solution has a strong sterilization ability, so it is commonly used as disinfectant. Specially refined ethanol can also be used in the manufacture of beverages. In the microelectronics industry, ethanol is used as dehydration detergents, and can be used in cooperation with degreasers.

When you are using this chemical, please be cautious about it as the following: Ethanol is irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin. It has possible risk of irreversible effects through inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed. The symptoms of ingestion are nausea, vomiting and intoxication. It can cause serious liver damage by long-term use of ingestion. In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice. Besides, in case of accident or if you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately (show label where possible)

You can still convert the following datas into molecular structure:
1. Smiles:C(C)O
2. InChI:InChI=1S/C2H6O/c1-2-3/h3H,2H2,1H3

The toxicity data is as follows: