This report is a continuation of the same project of the Commission on Electroanalytical Chemistry which led to the publication in 1982 of the compilation Recommended Methods for Purification of Solvents and Tests for Impurities (Pergamon Press) in which ten protic and aprotic solvents are discussed. The present report is the first to deal with the important class of saturated cyclic ethers, solvents that are used extensively in organometallic chemistry and battery technology. Key properties and uses of these solvents are briefly outlined. In the discussion of recommended purification methods and tests for impurities special emphasis is placed on the presence of peroxides which constitutes a serious explosion hazard in the handling of many ethers.
Values are given for the most relevant physicochemical properties and solvation parameters of acetone. The most significant solvent properties of acetone, particularly the limitations imposed by aldol condensation, are discussed. Typical examples of electrochemical studies carried out in this solvent are listed. Methods are recommended for the purification of commercial acetone and for the determination of residual water and other impurities.
The most significant solvent properties of nitromethane are discussed. Values are tabulated for its most relevant physicochemical properties and of its solvation parameters. Examples are given of typical electrochemical studies carried out in this solvent. Impurities present in commercial nitromethane are listed, and a recommended purification procedure is described. Precautions dictated by the potential explosion hazard of nitromethane are discussed.
