Diethyl ether what is it used for

Treatment of Diethyl ether. CME Programs on Diethyl ether. Diethyl ether en Espanol. Diethyl ether en Francais.

Diethyl ether in the Marketplace. Patents on Diethyl ether. List of terms related to Diethyl ether. Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M. Diethyl ether , also known as ethoxyethane , ethyl ether , sulfuric ether , or simply ether , is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula C 2 H 5 2 O. It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid. It is commonly used as a solvent and was once used as a general anesthetic. It has narcotic properties and has been known to cause temporary dependence, the only symptom of which is the will to consume more, sometimes referred to as etheromania.

It was first synthesized in by Valerius Cordus , who called it "sweet oil of vitriol" oleum dulce vitrioli — the name reflects the fact that it is obtained by distilling a mixture of ethanol and sulfuric acid then known as oil of vitriol — and noted some of its medicinal properties. It is particularly important as a solvent in the production of cellulose plastics such as cellulose acetate.

Diethyl ether has a high cetane number of and is used as a starting fluid , in combination with petroleum distillates for gasoline and diesel engines [8] because of its high volatility and low flash point. For the same reason it is also used as a component of the fuel mixture for carbureted compression ignition model engines. In this way diethyl ether is very similar to one of its precursors, ethanol.

Diethyl ether is a common laboratory solvent. It has limited solubility in water 6. When used with an aqueous solution, the organic layer is on top as the diethyl ether has a lower density than the water. Please note that this is not an effective means of extracting diethyl ether as water is highly polar while ether is non-polar. It is also a common solvent for the Grignard reaction in addition to other reactions involving organometallic reagents.

Due to its application in the manufacturing of illicit substances, it is listed in the Table II precursor under the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances as well as substances such as acetone , toluene and sulphuric acid. William T. Morton participated in a public demonstration of ether anesthesia on October 16, at the Ether Dome in Boston, Massachusetts.

However, Crawford Williamson Long , M. Diethyl ether depresses the myocardium and increases tracheobronchial secretions. Diethyl ether could also be mixed with other anesthetic agents such as chloroform to make C. Today, ether is rarely used. The use of flammable ether was displaced by nonflammable fluorinated hydrocarbon anesthetics. Halothane was the first such anesthetic developed and other currently used inhaled anesthetics, such as isoflurane, desflurane, and sevoflurane, are halogenated ethers.

Modern anesthetic agents reduce these side effects. It was once used in pharmaceuticals. A mixture of alcohol and ether was known as "Spirit of ether" or Hoffman's Drops. In the United States, it was removed from Pharmacopeia prior to June The anesthetic effects of ether have made it a recreational drug.

Diethyl ether in anesthetic dosage is an inhalant which has a long history of recreational use. One disadvantage is the high flammability, especially in conjunction with oxygen. One advantage is a well-defined margin between therapeutic and toxic doses, which means one would lose consciousness before dangerous levels of dissolved ether in blood would be reached.

With a strong, dense smell, ether causes irritation to respiratory mucosa and is uncomfortable to breathe, and in overdose triggering salivation, vomiting, coughing or spasms. Ether causes a very long excitation stage prior to blacking out. In the 19th century and early 20th century ether drinking was popular among Polish peasants.

A cytochrome P enzyme is proposed to metabolize diethyl ether. Diethyl ether inhibits alcohol dehydrogenase , and thus slows the metabolism of ethanol. For example diazepam requires hepatic oxidization whereas its oxidized metabolite oxazepam does not. Most diethyl ether is produced as a byproduct of the vapor-phase hydration of ethylene to make ethanol. This process uses solid-supported phosphoric acid catalysts and can be adjusted to make more ether if the need arises.

Diethyl ether can be prepared both in laboratories and on an industrial scale by the acid ether synthesis. A hydrogen ion protonates the electronegative oxygen atom of the ethanol , giving the ethanol molecule a positive charge:. In , the German botanist and pharmacist Valerius Cordus carried out the first synthesis of ether. He did so by adding sulfuric acid to ethanol, a method that is still used today to prepare the liquid.

Just over three centuries later, in October , two Americans publicly demonstrated the use of diethyl ether as a surgical inhalation anaesthetic. They were dentist William Morton, who administered the anaesthetic while surgeon John Collins Warren removed a tumour from the jaw of the unconscious patient, Edward Gilbert Abbott.

They carried out the operation at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. After the operation, Abbott woke up and claimed that he felt no pain. In the first world war, diethyl ether was employed as an anaesthetic either by itself or in combination with another anaesthetic such as chloroform.

It was also used as an antiseptic in the early s. In February , London surgeon Herbert Waterhouse reported in the British Medical Journal that he had been frequently employing ether as an antiseptic for more than five years. He described using the antiseptic to treat patients who had been admitted to hospital with severe septic gunshot wounds and a variety of other septic injuries. In one case, a young bull had gored an old farmer and ripped him open from the middle of the back of his thigh to above his pelvis.

The surgeon saw him five days later and noted that someone had applied a treacle poultice to the huge wound. He observed that:. Nearly a pint of ether was thus employed. I then loosely packed the wound with sterile gauze soaked in ether, and directed that the wound should be sponged with ether twice daily. In the decades running up to the war, ether proved to be not only a useful anaesthetic and antiseptic, but also an excellent solvent for a wide range of substances, including fats, oils, waxes, and notably a form of nitrocellulose known as collodion.

Collodion was a key ingredient of Cordite RDB, one of several types of cordite used by the British as a propellant in the war. The manufacturing process involved dissolving collodion and another explosive, nitroglycerine, in a mixture of diethyl ether and ethanol. Nowadays, diethyl ether is widely used for a variety of purposes. But if you are thinking of using it in the laboratory or elsewhere, you should be aware of certain health and safety issues.

Exposure to the vapour can irritate the eyes, skin, and throat and cause dizziness, drowsiness, and nausea. CAS RN: Major Uses. Good solvent for fats, oils, dyes, gums, resins, raw rubber, smokeless powder, perfumes, and nitrocellulose.

Also used in the manufacture of photographic films and pharmaceuticals, and as a reaction and extraction medium in the chemical industry. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Used as a solvent for waxes, fats, oils, perfumes, alkaloids, dyes, gums, resins, nitrocellulose, hydrocarbons, raw rubber, and smokeless powder.

Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens, 4th ed. Sittig, M. Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens,