Hexane

Other Names:

Hexane, mixture of isomers

General Information:

CAS Number: 110-54-3

Molecular Weight: 86.18 g/mol

Appearance: Colorless liquid

Melting Point: -95 C

Boiling Point: 69 C

Density: 0.659 g/mL at 25 C

The hexane that are commonly used in organic chemistry are a mixture of various six carbon alkanes, not just n-hexane. The lower toxicity and flammability of heptane has led to a slow shift towards heptane in favor of hexane.

Common Uses:

Solvent for silica gel chromatography

Procedure excerpt:

. . . and concentrated. The resulting oil was purified by column chromatography (20% EtOAc/hexane) to provide the product . . .

[full procedure]

Safety:

The acute toxicity of hexane is low, but long term toxicity is well known. Hexane is a highly flammable liquid.

References:

1) Patent Reference: WO2014152144, page 56, (4.6 MB)

2) Wikipedia: Hexane (link)

3) www.sigmaaldrich.com: Hexane (link)