Acetone

Acetone (systematically named propanone) is the organic compound with the formula (CH₃)₂CO. It is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid, and is the simplest ketone.

Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically for cleaning purposes in the laboratory, mainly for use as a solvent and production of methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A. It is a common building block in organic chemistry. Familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient innail polish remover and as paint thinner.

Acetone is a good solvent for many plastics and some synthetic fibers. It is used for thinning polyester resin, cleaning tools used with it, and dissolving two-part epoxies andsuperglue before they harden. It is used as one of the volatile components of some paints and varnishes. As a heavy-duty degreaser, it is useful in the preparation of metal prior to painting. It is also useful for high reliabilitysoldering applications to remove rosinflux after soldering is complete; this helps to prevent the rusty bolt effect.

Acetone is used as a solvent by thepharmaceutical industry and as adenaturant in denatured alcoholAcetone is also present as an excipientin some pharmaceutical drugs

Although itself flammable, acetone is used extensively as a solvent for the safe transportation and storage of acetylene, which cannot be safely pressurized as a pure compound. Vessels containing a porous material are first filled with acetone followed by acetylene, which dissolves into the acetone. One liter of acetone can dissolve around 250 liters of acetylene.