1,2-Epoxybutane

Intermediate for various polymers, stabilizer forchlorinated solvents.
1,2-Butylene oxide is a colorless mobile liquid with an unpleasant smell. This low boiling liquid has but limited water solubility, yet is miscible with most common organic solvents. It undergoes the usual reactions of epoxides with compounds having labile hydrogen atoms. Some of these are acids, amines, ammonia, alcohols, phenols, polyols, thiols, etc. Butylene oxide can be polymerized or copolymerized with other alkylene oxides to yield polyethers. The resulting polymers are less water soluble than the polymers made from ethylene and propylene oxide, of equivalent chain length.