4-Methyl-2-pentanone CAS 108-10-1

What is 4-Methyl-2-pentanone CAS 108-10-1?

4-Methyl-2-pentanone CAS 108-10-1, widely known as Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK), is an aliphatic branched-chain ketone. Typically presenting as a clear, colorless, and volatile liquid with a characteristic pleasant, sweet, or camphor-like odor, it features a structure that combines a polar carbonyl group with a branched hydrophobic isobutyl chain. This unique architectural makeup places MIBK among the most vital medium-boiling industrial solvents globally. It exhibits exceptional dissolving power for a vast array of synthetic resins, polymers, and elastomers. Beyond its role in premium surface coating formulations, MIBK serves as a highly efficient liquid-liquid extraction solvent in pharmaceutical purification, metallurgical separation, and fine chemical processing.

Specifications

Features

• Exceptional Solvency Profile: Displays an outstanding ability to dissolve tricky polymeric matrices, including nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, epoxy resins, vinyl copolymers, polyurethanes, and acrylics.
• Optimized Medium-Boiling Volatility: Features a balanced evaporation rate that bridges fast-drying low-boiling solvents and slow-drying high-boiling retarders, ensuring excellent flow, leveling, and gloss development without blushing in coating applications.
• Superior Extraction Efficiency: Possesses an ideal distribution coefficient and low water solubility, making it a premier choice for high-purity partition separations and liquid-liquid extraction workflows.
• High Chemical Resilience: Functions as a stable carrier medium that resists structural degradation, remaining completely stable under standard industrial temperatures, mixing shear, and diverse chemical processing conditions.

Applications

• Industrial Coatings, Lacquers & Paints: Heavily formulated as a primary solvent in automotive finishes, marine protective coatings, wood lacquers, industrial enamels, and high-performance printing inks to optimize viscosity and film formation.
• High-Strength Adhesives & Sealants: Utilized as a solvent vehicle in neoprene, nitrile rubber, and synthetic resin adhesives to regulate drying speed, open time, and structural substrate wetting.
• Pharmaceutical & Biochemical Extractions: Extensively applied as a premium extraction solvent in the isolation and purification of antibiotics (such as penicillin), natural product extracts, vitamins, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
• Metallurgical Separation & Rare Metal Recovery: Deployed as a highly selective chelating extraction agent in mining and chemical metallurgy to efficiently separate zirconium from hafnium, niobium from tantalum, and to recover precious metals.
• Rubber & Polymer Processing: Formulated as an active processing aid, solvent cleaning agent, and intermediate component in the manufacturing of specialized rubber anti-degradants, stabilizers, and synthetic elastomers.

Packaging

Mikem offers flexible packaging options, including 25 kg of fiber drums for liquid products and 15–25 kg PP/PE bags for powder products, all customizable to meet your specific needs.