Talk:Tetrahydrofuran

I am looking for the heat capacity of Tetrahydrofuran (THF). THF is an s-II promotor.

Commercial Uses -
I would like to see information on the commercial uses of this chemical as a solvent / adhesive.

Perhaps someone from a manufacturing facility might be willing to contribute general topic information.

http://www.lyondell.com/html/products/products/thf.shtml

It is used as an adhesive for pvc liners for landfills and similiar applications. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.99.38.139 (talk) 02:23, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

Boiling Point of THF compared with Diethyl Ether
Diethyl ether can often be substituted with THF, especially when a higher-boiling solvent is required

But according to the THF and Diethyl Ether pages, THF has the higher BP - 66 degrees C for THF and 34.6 degrees C for Diethyl Ether - so either this part of the article is wrong, or there is an error in the boiling point figures. Royhills 23:24, 1 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Ether can be substituted with THF - replace ether WITH THF, when a higher boiling solvent is required. Seems to make sense to me.

--Rifleman 82 04:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, you're right; I mis-read the entry. Royhills 10:45, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Physchim62 (talk) 11:55, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Precautions - NaOH really suitable for storage?
Under the header Precautions, it says: "THF can be stored in air-tight bottles in the dark over sodium hydroxide"

But in an MSDS (https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/23010.htm, https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/23011.htm), "caustic alkalis" are mentioned among "Incompatibilities with Other Materials".

Is dry NaOH ok?
 * No, it is the article which is incorrect. Caustic alkalis will eventually (i.e. on storage) open the ring. Anhydrous sodium carbonate can be used as an "in bottle" drying agent for anhydrous THF, as it is not sufficiently nucleophilic to react. To be any use, the sodium carbonate has to be freshñly dried: actually, it's not that common these days, as most people who want really dry THF distill it directly from sodium benzophenone ketyl, but I think that's what the sentence was referring to. Physchim62 (talk) 11:55, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Smell
Whomever thinks the smell is similar to diethyl ether needs their nose examined. Ether is cloyingly sweet while THF smells more like moldy basement. 24.127.45.84 (talk) 01:48, 26 March 2008 (UTC)


 * ether isnt cloyingly sweet imo, just mildly sweet. although, i cant smell most solvents anymore Susaf102 (talk) 06:11, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

I've worked with it for a while and it smells like acetone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.99.38.139 (talk) 02:25, 7 August 2010 (UTC)


 * yeah, same. i like its smell, its just solventy (like acetone). definitely different from ether tho. Susaf102 (talk) 06:09, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

I'm familiar with all of the above, and it doesn't smell anything like acetone! (I've just randomly sampled a couple of labmates, and they agree the above poster is talking rubbish.) Maybe if those are the only two organic chemicals you've ever smelled. A former coworker referred to the smell of THF as "like cat p***"... 192.17.28.26 (talk) 15:18, 20 October 2015 (UTC)


 * idk why everyone seems to hate the smell of thf, i quite like it Susaf102 (talk) 06:14, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

About the toxicity
I have checked the GHS about the LD50 values of THF and ACE. THF oral:2842mg/kg(rat) ACE oral:5800mg/kg(rat)

As I know, the lower the LD50 is, the higher the toxicity is. So it should be "THF is relatively toxic solvent than ACE." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.113.165.235 (talk) 04:50, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Why not just say how toxic it is, instead of saying its toxicity is comparable to aceton; surely that would be more encyclopaedic ? Otherwise you have to go check the aceton article, and who knows, maybe there it says it's as toxic as something else too. 78.23.228.141 (talk) 21:41, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

"relatively acutely nontoxic" What? Surely "relatively nontoxic" is sufficient?BioImages2000 (talk) 11:52, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

1,4-dioxolane
, I've removed this from the article;

1,4-dioxolane is known as 1,4-dioxane, its derivatives are called "dioxanes"

I don't think 1,4-dioxolane is a synonym for 1,4-dioxane. Dioxolanes are pentic and dioxanes are hexic. 1,4-dioxolane is the same isomer as 1,3-dioxolane. SpinningSpark 17:49, 30 June 2020 (UTC)