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Names | |
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IUPAC name
Triethyl borate
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Other names
Boron triethoxide
Boric acid, triethyl ester | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol)
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ChEBI | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.005.238 |
EC Number |
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PubChem CID
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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Properties | |
C6H15BO3 | |
Molar mass | 145.99 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | clear liquid |
Density | 0.858 g/cm3 |
Melting point | −85 °C (−121 °F; 188 K) |
Boiling point | 118 °C (244 °F; 391 K) |
Hazards | |
Flash point | 11 °C (52 °F; 284 K) |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Triethyl borate is a colorless liquid with the formula B(OCH2CH3)3. It is an ester of boric acid and ethanol. It has few applications.[1]
It is a weak Lewis acid (AN = 17 as measured by the Gutmann–Beckett method).[2] It burns with a green flame and solutions of it in ethanol are therefore used in special effects and pyrotechnics.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Triethyl_borate.jpg/220px-Triethyl_borate.jpg)
It is formed by the reaction of boric acid and ethanol in the presence of acid catalyst, where it forms according to the equilibrium reaction:
- B(OH)3 + 3 C2H5OH ⇌ (C2H5O)3B + 3 H2O
In order to increase the rate of forward reaction, the formed water must be removed from reaction media by either azeotropic distillation or adsorption. It is used as a solvent and/or catalyst in preparation of synthetic waxes, resins, paints, and varnishes. It is used as a component of some flame retardants in textile industry and of some welding fluxes.
References
[edit]- ^ Robert J. Brotherton; C. Joseph Weber; Clarence R. Guibert; John L. Little (2000). "Boron Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-3527306732.
- ^ M.A. Beckett, G.C. Strickland, J.R. Holland, and K.S. Varma, "A convenient NMR method for the measurement of Lewis acidity at boron centres: correlation of reaction rates of Lewis acid initiated epoxide polymerizations with Lewis acidity", Polymer, 1996, 37, 4629–4631. doi: 10.1016/0032-3861(96)00323-0