BETA-BUTYROLACTONE

Chemical Properties

colourless liquid

Uses

β-Butyrolactone was used in the preparation of (3- O -[oligo-(3-hydroxybutyrate ester)] fluorescein, fluorescein derivative of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) via anionic polymerization.

Uses

β-Butyrolactone was used in the preparation of (3-O-[oligo-(3-hydroxybutyrate ester)] fluorescein, fluorescein derivative of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) via anionic polymerization.

Definition

ChEBI: Beta-Butyrolactone is a beta-lactone.

General Description

Clear colorless liquid with an acetone-like odor.

Air & Water Reactions

Highly flammable. Water soluble

Reactivity Profile

BETA-BUTYROLACTONE is incompatible with strong oxidizers and strong bases. BETA-BUTYROLACTONE is hydrolyzed by water and aqueous alkali.

Hazard

Possible carcinogen, neoplastigen; tumori- genmutagen, irritant, slightly toxic.

Fire Hazard

BETA-BUTYROLACTONE is combustible.

Safety Profile

Suspected carcinogen with experimental carcinogenic, neoplastigenic, and tumorigenic data. Mildly toxic by ingestion. A moderate skin irritant. Mutation data reported. When heated to

Synthesis

B-butyrolactone has been synthesized by various methods, one by ()-epoxypropane synthesis, which is a single synthetic raw material with a yield higher than 90%, and the other by p-nitrophenyl isocyanate and ()-epoxypropane synthesis, which has a low yield compared to the first one, which is about 45%.

In recent years, a study has provided a method for the catalytic preparation of B-butyrolactone over a cinchona base catalyst. First, a cinchona base and borane undergo a borohydride reaction to prepare to obtain a cinchona base-derived bifunctional catalyst; the catalyst catalyzes a [2+2] addition reaction of aldehydes and vinyl ketone compounds to obtain the target compound. The said catalyst is a novel bifunctional catalyst containing both Lewis base (N) and Lewis acid (B) active centers, and its application to catalyze the [2+2] addition reaction of aldehydes and vinyl ketones not only yields B-butyrolactone, but also a series of chiral B-butyrolactone derivatives by modulating the reactant loading groups. Compared with the previous preparation methods, the catalyst preparation process of this method is short, easy to operate and inexpensive.