Applications
tert-Butyl Alcohol is a colorless liquid or crystalline solid with a mothball-like odor. It is used in making flavors and perfumes, as a solvent for pharmaceuticals, a paint remover, and as an additive in unleaded gasoline.
 
Description
tert-Butyl alcohol is the simplest tertiary alcohol, with a formula of (CH3)3COH (sometimes represented as t-BuOH). Its isomers are 1-butanol, isobutanol, and butan-2-ol. tert-Butyl alcohol is a colorless solid, which melts near room temperature and has a camphor-like odor.
 
Preparation
Preparation. tert-Butyl alcohol is derived commercially from isobutane as a coproduct of propylene oxide production. It can also be produced by the catalytic hydration of isobutylene, or by a Grignard reaction between acetone and methylmagnesium chloride.
 
Chemical Properties
Tertiary butanol is a colorless liquid with a characteristic alcoholic odor, soluble in water and common organic solvents, and undergoes typical alcohol reactions such as esterification and oxidation.
 
Definition
Tertiary butanol is a branched alcohol with four carbon atoms and a tertiary (3°) alcohol functional group.