Acetonitrile
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| Names | |||
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| Preferred IUPAC name Acetonitrile | |||
| Systematic IUPAC name Ethanenitrile | |||
| Other names 
 | |||
| Identifiers | |||
| 3D model (JSmol) | |||
| 741857 | |||
| ChEBI | |||
| ChEMBL | |||
| ChemSpider | |||
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.760 | ||
| EC Number | 
 | ||
| 895 | |||
| MeSH | acetonitrile | ||
| PubChem CID | |||
| RTECS number | 
 | ||
| UNII | |||
| UN number | 1648 | ||
| CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |||
| 
 | |||
| 
 | |||
| Properties | |||
| C2H3N | |||
| Molar mass | 41.053 g·mol−1 | ||
| Appearance | Colorless liquid | ||
| Odor | Faint, distinct, fruity | ||
| Density | 0.786 g/cm3 at 25°C | ||
| Melting point | −46 to −44 °C; −51 to −47 °F; 227 to 229 K | ||
| Boiling point | 81.3 to 82.1 °C; 178.2 to 179.7 °F; 354.4 to 355.2 K | ||
| Miscible | |||
| log P | −0.334 | ||
| Vapor pressure | 9.71 kPa (at 20.0 °C) | ||
| Henry's law constant (kH) | 530 μmol/(Pa·kg) | ||
| Acidity (pKa) | 25 | ||
| UV-vis (λmax) | 195 nm | ||
| Absorbance | ≤0.10 | ||
| −28.0×10−6 cm3/mol | |||
| Refractive index (nD) | 1.344 | ||
| 3.92 D | |||
| Thermochemistry | |||
| Heat capacity (C) | 91.69 J/(K·mol) | ||
| Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 149.62 J/(K·mol) | ||
| Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | 40.16–40.96 kJ/mol | ||
| Std enthalpy of combustion (ΔcH⦵298) | −1256.03 – −1256.63 kJ/mol | ||
| Hazards | |||
| GHS labelling: | |||
| Danger | |||
| H225, H302, H312, H319, H332 | |||
| P210, P280, P305+P351+P338 | |||
| NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
| Flash point | 2.0 °C (35.6 °F; 275.1 K) | ||
| 523.0 °C (973.4 °F; 796.1 K) | |||
| Explosive limits | 4.4–16.0% | ||
| Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |||
| LD50 (median dose) | 
 | ||
| LC50 (median concentration) | 5655 ppm (guinea pig, 4 hr) 2828 ppm (rabbit, 4 hr) 53,000 ppm (rat, 30 min) 7500 ppm (rat, 8 hr) 2693 ppm (mouse, 1 hr) | ||
| LCLo (lowest published) | 16,000 ppm (dog, 4 hr) | ||
| NIOSH (US health exposure limits): | |||
| PEL (Permissible) | TWA 40 ppm (70 mg/m3) | ||
| REL (Recommended) | TWA 20 ppm (34 mg/m3) | ||
| IDLH (Immediate danger) | 500 ppm | ||
| Related compounds | |||
| Related alkanenitriles | |||
| Related compounds | DBNPA | ||
| Supplementary data page | |||
| Acetonitrile (data page) | |||
| Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references | |||
Acetonitrile, often abbreviated MeCN (methyl cyanide), is the chemical compound with the formula CH3CN and structure H3C−C≡N. This colourless liquid is the simplest organic nitrile (hydrogen cyanide is a simpler nitrile, but the cyanide anion is not classed as organic). It is produced mainly as a byproduct of acrylonitrile manufacture. It is used as a polar aprotic solvent in organic synthesis and in the purification of butadiene. The N≡C−C skeleton is linear with a short C≡N distance of 1.16 Å.
Acetonitrile was first prepared in 1847 by the French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas.