Butyl butyrate, or butyl butanoate, is an

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

that is an

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

formed by the condensation of

butyric acid Butyric acid (; from , meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula . It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. Isobutyric acid (2-met ...

and ''n''-butanol. It is a clear, colorless liquid that is insoluble in water, but miscible with

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

and

diethyl ether Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound with the chemical formula , sometimes abbreviated as . It is a colourless, highly Volatility (chemistry), volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liquid. It belongs ...

. Its

refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is the ratio of the apparent speed of light in the air or vacuum to the speed in the medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refrac ...

is 1.406 at 20 °C.

Aroma

Like other volatile esters, butyl butyrate has a pleasant aroma. It is used in the flavor industry to create sweet fruity flavors that are similar to that of pineapple. It occurs naturally in many kinds of fruit including apple, banana, berries, pear, plum, and strawberry.

Safety

It is a marine pollutant.BUTYL BUTYRATE
at the site cameochemicals.noaa.gov It mildly irritates the eyes and skin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butyl Butyrate Butyrate esters Flavors Butyl esters