Overview

Ethylene oxide (ETH-ih-leen OK-side) is a flammable, colorless gas with the odor of ether. The gas is a cyclic compound, consisting of a ring of two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. Each carbon atom also has two hydrogen atoms attached to it. Ethylene oxide was first prepared in 1859 by French chemist Charles Adolphe Wurtz (1817–1884). Wurtz produced the compound by reacting ethylene chlorhydrin (2-chloroethanol; ClCH₂CH₂OH) with an inorganic base (such as sodium hydroxide; NaOH), a process that remained the principle method for preparing the gas for more than a century. After World War II (1939–1945), a method was discovered for the direct oxidation of ethylene gas that is more efficient than the chlorhydrin process.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Epoxyethane; oxirane

Formula:

(CH₂)₂O

Elements:

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen

Compound Type:

Cyclic ether (organic)

State:

Gas

Molecular Weight:

44.05 g/mol

Melting Point:

−112.5°C (−170.5°F)

Boiling Point: