Triethyl borate

Last updated
Triethyl borate
Triethyl borate.png
Triethyl-borate-3D-balls.png
Names
IUPAC name
Triethyl borate
Other names
Boron triethoxide
Boric acid, triethyl ester
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.005.238 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
EC Number
  • 205-760-9
PubChem CID
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C6H15BO3/c1-4-8-7(9-5-2)10-6-3/h4-6H2,1-3H3 Yes check.svgY
    Key: AJSTXXYNEIHPMD-UHFFFAOYSA-N Yes check.svgY
  • InChI=1/C6H15BO3/c1-4-8-7(9-5-2)10-6-3/h4-6H2,1-3H3
    Key: AJSTXXYNEIHPMD-UHFFFAOYAB
  • O(B(OCC)OCC)CC
Properties
C6H15BO3
Molar mass 145.99 g·mol−1
Appearanceclear 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).
X mark.svgN  verify  (what is  Yes check.svgYX mark.svgN ?)

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.

Green flame of triethyl borate Triethyl borate.jpg
Green flame of triethyl borate
Video of triethyl borate burning (with intermittent blowing on it)

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

  1. ↑ 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   978-3-527-30673-2.
  2. ↑ 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
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.