What is Acetone: Definition and 40 Discussions

Acetone, or propanone, is an organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CO. It is the simplest and smallest ketone. It is a colourless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important organic solvent in its own right, in industry, home, and laboratory. About 6.7 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2010, mainly for use as a solvent and production of methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A. It is a common building block in organic chemistry. Familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and as paint thinner. While it has volatile organic compound (VOC) exempt status in the United States, it is considered by the EU as a contributor to environmental pollution.Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes. It is normally present in blood and urine. People with diabetic ketoacidosis produce it in larger amounts. Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems. Ketogenic diets that increase ketone bodies (acetone, β-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetic acid) in the blood are used to counter epileptic attacks in infants and children who suffer from refractory epilepsy.

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  1. theycallmevirgo

    Smoothing 3d prints with acetone

    I'm in the process of 3d printing some injection molds, and I was looking at some tutorials for surface smoothing with evaporated acetone. My concern is that some of my models have concave features that the acetone will not reach. Is there a dilution that will still be effective? Alternately...
  2. M

    Bubbling air through acetone

    Can you, please, help me with this exercise? I know the formulas for the required parameters, but I know neither how to use them here nor in what way to solve the exercise. Plus I don't understand what for I was given the temperature Thank you for your help and advice
  3. pangru

    I Why is Isopropanol used after Acetone in cleaning procedures?

    In the semiconductor device fabrication procedures, common cleaning recipe includes Acetone and just after it, Isopropanol cleaning. My question is, Why do we need Isopropanol cleaning after acetone? As answers of this question says, Isopropanol must be used after acetone cleaning, due to...
  4. C

    Product of the reaction of benzene with acetone in sulfuric acid?

    Homework Statement What will result in the reaction of benzene with acetone in sulfuric acid? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Is bisphenyl correct?
  5. G

    Zinc+Iron+Acetone+Hydrogen Peroxide

    When I added a zinc plated iron ball into the acetone-peroxide solution, they zinc started bubbling. The solution turned whitish. Then after leaving overnight it became grayish with orange red foam on top
  6. J

    C-C Bond Type in Acetone: Sigma-Bond?

    I know that in acetone the central carbon atom is ##sp^2## hybridized. It is bonded to the single oxygen atom with a ##\sigma##-bond and a ##\pi##-bond. But what is the bond type with the two C-C bonds? The lower carbon atoms are ##sp^3## hybridized and so their geometry is tetrahedral. Are the...
  7. Nader AbdlGhani

    Ketones Saturation: Acetone CH3COCH3

    Are ketones saturated ? for example , Acetone ( CH3COCH3 ) my question is aroused by a question in the General Secondary Education Certificate Chemistry exam here in Egypt , as the question there was : How many moles of hydrogen molecules are required to react with one mole of : 1) Acetone. 2)...
  8. A

    Acetone and Petrol- Evaporation Rate

    < Mentor Note -- thread moved to HH from the technical physics forums, so no HH Template is shown > Need a bit of help here: Which has higher rate of evaporation :- Acetone or Petrol?
  9. E

    Acetone in water influence its enthelpy of vaporization

    Hi Everyone, I'm currently developing a waste heat recovery device as a side project. The system I've created uses a solution of acetone and water. One step in the process involves vaporizing acetone from the water at a low grade heat temperature (note: acetone does not form an azeotrope with...
  10. _Anthony_

    Dry ice and acetone, endothermic?

    For decades I've wonder. Is there an endothermic reaction between dry ice and acetone? With ice, salt forces a phase change lowering the temperature but that doesn't seem applicable here.
  11. marcophys

    Miscible - acetone in petrol/oil & water?

    This refers to the addition of acetone in petrol and diesel, and the potential action on any water within the fuel. For interest: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/adding-acetone-to-the-gasoline.366946/ The above provides an interesting live understanding of the benefits to be gained...
  12. gfd43tg

    Can you help with designing a continuous acetone production process?

    Hello, I am working on a process design project and was wondering if I could get some help. While this is classwork material, I thought this is too big of a problem to post in the homework section, and would be more suitable in a forum such as this one which has much less traffic. For...
  13. R

    What's going on with Acetone and ABS chemically?

    In 3D printing it is a well known trick to use Acetone to smooth/dissolve prints made from ABS plastic. Most articles call acetone a "solvent" of ABS but after some experimentation with PLA plastic and THF "solvent" I get the feeling "solvent" may be too vague a term. The main observable...
  14. U

    Understanding the Behavior of Acetone and CS2 in Binary Liquid Solutions

    Homework Statement Acetone and carbon disulphide form binary liquid solution showing positive deviation from Raoult's law, The normal boiling point(BP) of pure acetone is less than that of pure carbon disulphide. Select the incorrect statement(s) among the following. A)BP of mixture is...
  15. mishima

    Chlorophyll in Acetone Spectrophotometry Help

    Hi, I have an older spectrophotometer (Spectronic 20) I've been trying to get up and running mostly just for fun, but also to learn more about spectrophotometry in general. Recently I tried constructing an absorbance spectrum for chlorophyll in acetone. I took an unmeasured amount of cuttings...
  16. S

    How to Purify Acetone with Magnesium Sulphate & Activated Carbon

    I bought a can of acetone recently. I called the manufacturer and they said that the acetone was 99.5 percent pure. This is not good enough for me. I need it as pure as possible. I have tried tossing in anhydrous magnesium sulphate (about 40 grams per litre), shaking well for a couple minutes...
  17. L

    Aldol Condensation rxn- NaOH + acetone, then add benzaldehyde = ?

    1. "Students were instructed to mix the benzaldehyde and acetone starting materials in their conical vials before adding the ethanolic sodium hydroxide solution. Why was this essential to the success of the reaction? What would have been the most likely product formed if the sodium hydroxide...
  18. N

    Why Does Acetone Stain Plexiglass?

    Hi, I'm just wondering why, chemically, acetone will stain plexiglass (Plexiglas) rather than cleaning it? Thanks in advance.
  19. B

    Phases of Acetone and Diphenyl at room temp

    I was reviewing a chart of Physical properties of pure substances (20 °C) Acetone has a melting point of -95°C and boiling point of 56°C so you'd assume it's solid (but obvioulsy it's liquid). In addition, Diphenyl has a melting point of 70°C and boiling point of 255°C so you'd assume it's...
  20. U

    Acetone in Gasoline: UOP Shadow Racing Team Tested

    I was cruising the web for race fuel ideas and found this. I had to comment... https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=195647 The UOP Shadow team ran a Can-Am car in 1971 and their crew chief was a self taught engineer named Peter Bryant, a really smart guy. UOP sold unleaded fuel and...
  21. A

    1 methyl ethyne reacted with i(HBr,) ii(Mg(0), THF, acetone)

    Homework Statement I get that the Br will attach to the triple bond creating a double bond and a Br at the end. I get the gringard reagent but what will the acetone do?Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution
  22. T

    Acetone v. Alcohol for cleaning a pipe.

    I've heard of using isopropyl alcohol to clean the tar out of a pipe, but what about acetone? Which is a better solvent for tar? Would a mixture of both work better than either alone? (Would mixing the two be dangerous?) Thanks, Tyler
  23. E

    So it’s not a plausible mechanism for polymerization.

    What follows is a suggested mechanism for base catalyzed acetone polymerization which is based on simple nucleophilic addition series. I have divided the mechanism into three steps, shown below. In step 1, the reaction is initialized by a base catalyzed initiation into ketone-enolate resonance...
  24. C

    Adding acetone to the gasoline

    Hello everyone I have read and heard about proved benefits of adding a very small amount of acetone to the gasoline for our cars in order to improve the engine performance and consequently the MPG. Seems like the optimum percentage of this mixing is between 0.1 and 0.3% of pure acetone...
  25. C

    The Iodination of Acetone lab- Need help with determining the reaction orders

    I need to find the variable m in the following equation rate=k(acetone)m(I2)n(H+)p Here is our expirmental data Exp. 1 10 ml of 4 M acetone + 10 ml of 1 M HCl + 10 ml 0.005 M I2 reacted in 68 sec. Exp. 2 20 ml of 4 M acetone + 10 ml of 1 M HCl + 10 ml 0.005 M I2 reacted in 27.6...
  26. E

    SN2 reaction speed, NaF in hexane vs. acetone

    1.The following question came up on a recent practice quiz: In which of the following solvents will a bromoalkane with NaF SN2 reaction proceed faster, acetone or hexane? 2. No equations. 3. I reasoned that in order for the reaction to proceed the salt must first dissociate...
  27. wolram

    Find Alternatives to Acetone for Nail Polish Removal

    For a household substitute for Acetone except nail polish?
  28. A

    Quick question on iodination of acetone.

    In class today we did a lab with acetone (4M), iodine (.0050M), and HCl (1.0M). The lab was one kinetics and on determining the rate constant, rates, and orders. Which I've done fine, but I'm stuck on this question: Why is the concentration of I2 so much less then the other reactants? Any...
  29. G

    Using Acetone as Working Fluid in Rankine Cycle: Efficiency & Boiling Point

    Is it possible to use acetone as the working fluid in a Rankine cycle engine (like steam engine)? How efficent would it be? I want to use it becasuse it boils at just 56.5C. many thanks.
  30. H

    Calculate Molar Mass of Acetone: 0.239g @766mm Hg & 100°C

    A 125mL flask contains 0.239g of acetone vapor at 766mm Hg and 100*C. Calculate the molar mass of acetone. 766x125/373Kx273K/760=92.210mL .239g/92.210/1000=2.592g/mL Where am I going wrong? I have no idea if I'm anywhere close.
  31. rohanprabhu

    Conversion of Ethanol to Acetone

    Homework Statement Q] How would you convert Ethanol to Acetone? Homework Equations none.. The Attempt at a Solution What I need is a C=O group at the second carbon in a 3-carbon chain. What I need first is a 3rd carbon. To do this, I first could: i] React Ethanol with Ethanoic Acid...
  32. J

    Acetone in gasoline and surface tension

    I've have read that putting acetone (.08% by volume)into the gasoline for your automobile helps the gas to atomize better by decreasing the surface tension of the gasoline. I have a link here.http://www.pureenergysystems.com/news/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/ I tried it myself, and found the...
  33. M

    Acetone Volatility: Does it Leave Residue or Vanish?

    When you pour some acetone on the ground and it evaporates does it leave any residue at all or does it vanish without a trace? I love working with acetone because whenever I spill it on my hands I don't even have to wash them since it evaporates in a matter of seconds and doesn't even leave a...
  34. C

    Simple question about setting fire to acetone

    What will happen? If I took a very small amount of pure acetone, put it in a bowl and went outside to set it on fire(safety first). I am curious because I am a hiker and I am working on a lightweight alcohol stove. I don't have any alcohol that seems to work right now but I do have acetone and I...
  35. M

    Acetone derived from conventional petroleum?

    Would Acetone be considered to be derived from conventional petroleum? In the truest sense of the term "derived from conventional petroleum" I have to answer the question yes or no so a final yes or know in the end would be very helpful. I know that acetone (dimethyl ketone) is produced...
  36. X

    Acetone from Nail Polish Remover?

    Acetone/nitrocellulose Hello, I am new here at this forum and this is my first post. I searched everywhere for a method of extracting acetone out of nail polish remover and could not find an answer. Is there anyway to make or extract acetone. I need it to make nitrocellulose by putting pieces...
  37. O

    Polycarb vs Acetone: Why Does Acetone Damage Polycarbonate?

    Why does Acetone damage Polycarbonate?
  38. maverick280857

    Reaction of acetone with oxalic ester

    Hello again What is/are the product(s) when acetone reacts with oxalic ester in presence of sodium ethoxide? I would be grateful if someone could explain mechanistically. Thanks and cheers vivek
  39. K

    Obtaining and Diluting Acetone for Use in Spectrophotometry

    How do i get it or where do i get it? i need to use it to make an extract with a chlorophyll solution, so i can measure the optical density of the extract with a spectrophotometer...
  40. I

    Chromatography using acetone

    chromatography...using acetone! the protocol: Vg = volume not accessable to solvent (volume of the gel matrix) Vg cannot be measured directly. However, it should apparent that: Vg = Vt - volume accessable to solvent We can measure the volume accessable to the solvent, using a small...
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