The main characteristics of anhydrous ethanol include high purity (≥99.5%), volatility, flammability, strong solubility, and weak acidity, specifically as follows:
Core Physical and Chemical Properties
High Purity and Low Moisture: Purity ≥99.5%, almost water-free, highly hygroscopic (absorbs 0.3%-0.4% moisture when exposed to air).
Physical Properties:
Colorless, transparent liquid with a pungent odor, boiling point 78.3°C, density 0.789 g/cm³ (less than water).
Volatile, flash point 12-13°C (flammable), miscible with water and most organic solvents (such as ether and chloroform) in any proportion.
Chemical Properties:
Weakly acidic (due to the presence of hydroxyl groups), possessing reducing properties, and capable of participating in esterification (e.g., to form ethyl acetate), halogenation, dehydration (to form ethylene), and oxidation reactions (combustion to produce CO₂ and water). It reacts with metallic sodium to produce sodium ethoxide and hydrogen gas.
