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methanol

File:Methanol-2D.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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methanol

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Also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha, wood spirits, Columbian spirits, MeOH, CH3OH, wood spirit

Methanol (also called methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a light, volatile, colorless and flammable liquid with a distinctive alcoholic odor similar to that of ethanol (potable alcohol), but is more acutely toxic than the latter. Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced through destructive distillation of wood. Today, methanol is mainly produced industrially by hyd

OverviewAI-generated

Methanol is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4O and a molar mass of 32.042. Its canonical SMILES notation is CO, and it possesses a charge of 0. The substance has a density of 0.79 and a dynamic viscosity of 0.000544. Physical properties include a boiling point of 147, a flash point of 52, and a vapor pressure of 13020. The melting point is listed as -144, -98, and -97.68.

Thermodynamic data for methanol includes a molar enthalpy of vaporization of 37400, a molar fusion enthalpy of 3167.29, and a combustion enthalpy of -726.4. The standard molar entropy is 239.9, and the ionization energy is 10.85. The compound has a pKa of 15.5 and an electric dipole moment of 1.70. Safety parameters indicate a lower flammable limit of 6 and an upper flammable limit of 36. Exposure limits are set at a time-weighted average of 260 and a short-term limit of 325, with an immediately dangerous to life or health level of 7860.

Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubChem, PubMed, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula
CH4O
Molecular weight
32.042 g/mol
IUPAC name
methanol
SMILES
CO
InChIKey
OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP
-0.5
Polar surface area
20.2 Ų
H-bond donors
1
H-bond acceptors
1
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

Research

102,088 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
alkanol
Has part
oxygen
Mass
32.026
Autonomy
440
Has use
solvent
Show 35 more facts
described by source
New International Encyclopedia
upper flammable limit
36
Commons category
Methanol
canonical SMILES
CO
vapor pressure
13020
has effect
methanol poisoning
NIOSH Pocket Guide ID
0397
molar fusion enthalpy
3167.29
speed of sound
1121
density
0.79
molar enthalpy of vaporization
37400
combustion enthalpy
-726.4
ionization energy
10.84
immediately dangerous to life or health
7860
melting point
-97.68
boiling point
64.6
flash point
52
lower flammable limit
6
time-weighted average exposure limit
260
short-term exposure limit
325
pKa
15.5
dynamic viscosity
0.000544
standard molar entropy
239.9
electric dipole moment
1.70
chemical formula
CH₄O
found in taxon
Passiflora edulis
standard enthalpy of formation
-200660
topic's main category
Category:Methanol
MCN code
2905.11.00
subject has role
neurotoxin
safety classification and labelling
Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008
specific heat capacity
9.798
different from
L-menthol
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
associated hazard
methanol poisoning
Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

~19 min read

Encyclopedic overview

22 sections
Contents
  • Occurrence
  • Interstellar medium
  • Applications
  • Production of formaldehyde, acetic acid, methyl ''tert''-butyl ether
  • Methanol to hydrocarbons, olefins, gasoline
  • Gasoline additive
  • Other chemicals
  • Niche and potential uses
  • Energy carrier
  • Fuel
  • Other applications
  • Production
  • From synthesis gas
  • Biosynthesis
  • Green methanol
  • Quality specifications and analysis
  • Safety
  • Toxicity
  • See also
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

Methanol (also called methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a light, volatile, colorless and flammable liquid with a distinctive alcoholic odor similar to that of ethanol (potable alcohol), but is more acutely toxic than the latter. Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced through destructive distillation of wood. Today, methanol is mainly produced industrially by hydrogenation of carbon monoxide.

Methanol consists of a methyl group linked to a polar hydroxyl group. With more than 20 million tons produced annually, it is used as a precursor to other commodity chemicals, including formaldehyde, acetic acid, methyl tert-butyl ether, methyl benzoate, anisole, peroxyacids, as well as a host of more specialized chemicals.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “methanol” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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