Chemical Properties
clear colorless liquid
Physical properties
Clear, colorless, flammable liquid with an odor resembling hexane. An odor threshold
concentration of 4.5 ppmv was reported by Nagata and Takeuchi (1990).
Uses
It is used in the liquid-phase oxidation of 2,4-dimethylpentane and in a study on the preparation and the physical constants of a number of alkanes and cycloalkanes.
General Description
2,3-Dimethylpentane belongs to the class of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Source
In diesel engine exhaust at a concentration of 0.9% of emitted hydrocarbons (quoted,
Verschueren, 1983). Schauer et al. (1999) reported 2,3-dimethylpentane in a diesel-powered
medium-duty truck exhaust at an emission rate of 720 μg/km.
California Phase II reformulated gasoline contained 2,3-dimethylpentane at a concentration of
29.4 g/kg. Gas-phase tailpipe emission rates from gasoline-powered automobiles with and without
catalytic converters were 5.34 and 714 mg/km, respectively (Schauer et al., 2002).
Environmental Fate
Photolytic. A photooxidation rate constant of 3.4 x 10-12 cm3/molecule?sec was reported for the
gas-phase reaction of 2,3-dimethylpentane and OH radicals (Atkinson, 1990).
Chemical/Physical. Complete combustion in air yields carbon dioxide and water vapor. 2,3-
Dimethylpentane will not hydrolyze because it has no hydrolyzable functional group.