Pinacolyl alcohol	Pinacolone
Structure
Appearance	Clear liquid with alcoholic odor	Clear liquid with camphor or mint odor
Molecular Formula	C6H14O	C6H12O
Molecular Weight	102.2	102.2
Melting Point	5.45°C	-52.5°C
Boiling Point	120°C	106°C
Liquid Density	0.835	0.723
Vapor Density	3.52	-
Vapor pressure	1.7 kPa at 25°C	4.2 kPa at 25°C
Flammable

Also refer to 2000 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2000) Guide 127.

Health Hazards

Irritating by skin contact, inhalation, and ingestion although it may take some time for effects to become evident. Large quantities can have effects on the central nervous system, suffocation and cyanosis in the case of skin contact. Both are extremely flammable.

Risk and Safety Phrases.

INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL USES

Pinacolone is the more important of the two in industrial chemistry. Its primary use is in the synthesis of triazolylpinacolone in the synthesis of the fungicide triadimefon and in synthesis of the herbicide metribuzin.It is also the immediate precursor for pinacolyl alcohol.

COMMENTS

Pinacolyl alcohol is used in the preparation of the nerve agent soman. The immediate synthesis is by the reduction of pinacolone. Pinacolone can be made by several routes. The simplest, or at least the one using the most unobtrusive starting materials, is by a well-characterized reaction known as the pinacol rearrangement. This involves acetone as the only reactant in the presence of an acid catalyst. Acetone is a high production volume chemical with worldwide annual production of 1 million tons. Other routes use more exotic starting materials that would be more telling indicators of their intent. The other significant commercial route is by the reaction of tert-butanol and formaldehyde.