Acetonitrile

Acetonitrile is the simplest organic nitrile. It is colorless and transparent liquid at room temperature. It is very volatile. It has a special odor similar to ether. It is flammable and has a bright flame when burning. It is miscible with water, methanol, carbon tetrachloride, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, dichloroethane and many unsaturated hydrocarbon solvents. It is toxic and can be metabolized into hydrogen cyanide and thiocyanate. Acetonitrile is an important organic intermediate with excellent solvent properties. It is widely used as polar aprotic solvent. The most important use of acetonitrile is as a solvent. It can be used as a solvent for the synthesis of vitamin A, cortisone, carboamine drugs and their intermediates. It can also be used as an active medium solvent for the manufacture of vitamin B1 and amino acids, and can replace chlorination solvent. Acetonitrile can also be used as extractant of fatty acid, alcohol denaturant, butadiene extractant and solvent of acrylonitrile synthetic fiber. It also has many uses in fabric dyeing, lighting industry, perfume manufacturing and photosensitive material manufacturing.