Β-Butyrolactone

β-Butyrolactone
Names
	Preferred IUPAC name 4-Methyloxetan-2-one
Identifiers
CAS Number	3068-88-0 ;
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image;
ChEBI	CHEBI:82296;
ChEMBL	ChEMBL1361205;
ChemSpider	17288;
ECHA InfoCard	100.019.392
EC Number	221-330-3;
KEGG	C19201;
PubChem CID	18303;
UNII	8BB68V31MT ;
UN number	1993
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID1020223 ;
	InChI InChI=1S/C4H6O2/c1-3-2-4(5)6-3/h3H,2H2,1H3 Key: GSCLMSFRWBPUSK-UHFFFAOYSA-N;
	SMILES CC1CC(=O)O1;
Properties
Chemical formula	C4H6O2
Molar mass	86.090 g·mol−1
Appearance	Colourless to light yellow liquid
Boiling point	71–73 °C (160–163 °F; 344–346 K) 39 hPa
Solubility in water	268 g·l−1
Solubility	Soluble in various organic solvents
Hazards
	GHS labelling:
Pictograms
Signal word	Warning
Hazard statements	H226, H315, H319, H351
Precautionary statements	P201, P202, P210, P233, P240, P241, P242, P243, P264, P280, P281, P302+P352, P303+P361+P353, P305+P351+P338, P308+P313, P321, P332+P313, P337+P313, P362, P370+P378, P403+P235, P405, P501
	Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

β-Butyrolactone is the intramolecular carboxylic acid ester (lactone) of the optically active 3-hydroxybutanoic acid. It is produced during chemical synthesis as a racemate. β-Butyrolactone is suitable as a monomer for the production of the biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). Polymerisation of racemic (RS)-β-butyrolactone provides (RS)-polyhydroxybutyric acid, which, however, is inferior in essential properties (e.g. strength or degradation behaviour) to the (R)-poly-3-hydroxybutyrate originating from natural sources.