Name
Dimethyl carbonate
CAS
616-38-6
Synonyms
CARBONIC ACID DIMETHYL ESTER
DIMETHYL CARBONATE
DMC
METHYL CARBONATE
CH3OCOOCH3
Dimethyl ester of carbonic acid
Methyl carbonate ((MeO)2CO)
methylcarbonate((meo)2co)
dimetyl carbonate
DIMETHYL CARBONATE, 99+%, ANHYDROUS
DIMETHYL CARBONATE, REAGENTPLUS, 99%
DimethylCarbonateForSynthesis
DimethylCarbonate(Dmc)
dimethly carbonate
Dimethylcarbonate,99%
Dimethylcarbonat
DIMETHYL CARBONATE pure
Carbonic acid hydrogen methyl ester
Methoxyformic acid
Methoxymethanoic acid
EINECS(EC#)
210-478-4
Molecular Formula
C3H6O3
MDL Number
MFCD00008420
Molecular Weight
90.08
MOL File
616-38-6.mol

Appearance
colourless liquid
mp 
2-4 °C(lit.)

bp 
90 °C(lit.)

density 
1.069 g/mL at 25 °C(lit.)

vapor density 
3.1 (vs air)

vapor pressure 
18 mm Hg ( 21.1 °C)

refractive index 
n20/D 1.368(lit.)

Fp 
65 °F

storage temp. 
Flammables area
color 
<50(APHA)

Stability:
Stable. Highly flammable. Incompatible with strong oxidizing agents, potassium t-butoxide.
Water Solubility 
139 g/L
Sensitive 
Moisture Sensitive
Merck 
14,3241
BRN 
635821
CAS DataBase Reference
616-38-6(CAS DataBase Reference)
NIST Chemistry Reference
Carbonic acid, dimethyl ester(616-38-6)
EPA Substance Registry System
616-38-6(EPA Substance)

Hazard Codes 
F
Risk Statements 
R11:Highly Flammable.
Safety Statements 
S9:Keep container in a well-ventilated place .
S16:Keep away from sources of ignition-No smoking .
RIDADR 
UN 1161 3/PG 2

WGK Germany 
1

RTECS 
FG0450000

HazardClass 
3
PackingGroup 
II
HS Code 
29209090
Safety Profile
Moderately toxic by intraperitoneal route. Mildly toxic by ingestion. An irritant. Violent reaction or ignition on contact with potassium-tertbutoxide. A very dangerous fire hazard when exposed to heat, open flames (sparks), or oxiduers. To fight fire, use alcohol foam. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes.
Hazardous Substances Data
616-38-6(Hazardous Substances Data)

Raw materials
Methanol-->Propylene oxide-->PHOSGENE-->CARBON MONOXIDE-->Methyl chloroformate-->Propylene carbonate -->Ethylene carbonate
Preparation Products
Diethyl carbonate-->7-Chloro-1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-8-methoxy-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid-->DIMETHYL METHOXYMALONATE-->1-Methylimidazole-->Ciprofloxacin-->N-Methyl-3-carbomethoxy-4-piperidone hydrochloride-->(S)-(-)-1,2,3,4-Tetrahedro-naphthoic acid-->2-PHENYLMALONAMIDE-->4-DIMETHOXYMETHYL-6-HYDROXYPYRIMIDINE-2-THIOL-->1H-Azepine-3-carboxylicacid,hexahydro-,methylester(9CI)-->1,5-Diphenylcarbazide-->Asulam-->4-Bromo-1,3,5-trimethyl-1H-pyrazole-->(1,3,5-TRIMETHYL-1H-PYRAZOL-4-YL)METHYLAMINE-->1,3,5-Trimethylpyrazole-->1,3,5-TRIMETHYL-1H-PYRAZOLE-4-CARBOXYLIC ACID-->1,3,5-Trimethyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxaldehyde-->1H-Pyrazole-4-carbonyl chloride, 1,3,5-trimethyl-(9CI)-->Ethyl methyl carbonate

General Description
A clear, colorless liquid with a pleasant odor. Flash point 66°F. Denser than water and slightly soluble in water. Vapors are heavier than air. Used to make other chemicals and as a special purpose solvent.
Reactivity Profile
DIMETHYL CARBONATE(616-38-6) reacts with acids to liberate heat along with methanol and carbon dioxide. Strong oxidizing acids may cause a vigorous reaction that is sufficiently exothermic to ignite the reaction products. Heat is also generated by the interaction with caustic solutions. Flammable hydrogen is generated by mixing with alkali metals and hydrides.
Air & Water Reactions
Highly flammable. Slightly soluble in water.
Hazard
Flammable, dangerous fire risk. Toxic by inhalation, strong irritant.
Health Hazard
May cause toxic effects if inhaled or absorbed through skin. Inhalation or contact with material may irritate or burn skin and eyes. Fire will produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases. Vapors may cause dizziness or suffocation. Runoff from fire control or dilution water may cause pollution.
Fire Hazard
HIGHLY FLAMMABLE: Will be easily ignited by heat, sparks or flames. Vapors may form explosive mixtures with air. Vapors may travel to source of ignition and flash back. Most vapors are heavier than air. They will spread along ground and collect in low or confined areas (sewers, basements, tanks). Vapor explosion hazard indoors, outdoors or in sewers. Runoff to sewer may create fire or explosion hazard. Containers may explode when heated. Many liquids are lighter than water.

msds information
dimethyl carbonate(616-38-6).msds

Outline
Dimethyl carbonate is briefly referred to as DMC. At room temperature, it is a colorless and transparent liquid with a pungent odor with a relative density (D204) of 1.0694, a melting point of 4 °C, boiling point of 90.3 °C, the flash point being 21.7 °C (opening) and being 16.7 °C (closed ) and the refractive index (nd20) being 1.3687. It is flammable and non-toxic and is miserable with almost all organic solvents in any proportion with alcohols, ketones and esters. It is slightly soluble in water. It can be used as the methylating agent. Compared with other methylating reagent such as methyl iodide and dimethyl sulfate, dimethyl carbonate is less toxic, and biodegradable.
The past method of making dimethyl carbonate with phosgene as raw materials is not frequently used. Instead, people now adopt the catalytic oxidative carbonylation of methanol in the presence of oxygen which is more environmentally friendly than the previous method.
Dimethyl carbonate can enable to methylation of aniline, phenol and carboxylic acid. However, many reaction demands high-pressure. DBU can be added during reflux of DMC for catalyzing the methylation of carboxylic acid with dimethyl carbonate.


Reference quality standards
Index name battery grade excellent grade first grade qualified experimental methods
Appearance, colorless and transparent liquid
Dimethyl carbonate content% ≥99.9 ≥99.5 ≥99.0 ≥98.5 Gas Chromatography
Water, Water Content% ≤30ppm ≤0.10 ≤0.10 ≤0.10 GB606
Alkalinity mmol/10Og-≤0.10 ≤0.12 ≤0.12 Q/GNPC-JX 017
Non-volatile matter, %-≤0.02 ≤0.02 ≤0.02 GB6324.2
Peroxide (By H2O2) ≤5ppm---GB6016-85
Density (20 ℃), Density g/cm3 1.071 ± 0.005
The application of dimethyl carbonate
1, a novel type of low toxicity solvents and can substitute solvent such as toluene, xylene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, acetone or butanone in paints and adhesive industry, and is environmentally friendly green chemical products.
2, it is excellent methylating agent, carbonylation agent, hydroxymethylation agent and methoxylation agent and is a kind of chemical raw material of wide application.
3, it can be used as ideal substitute of highly toxic product such as phosgene, dimethyl sulfate, and methyl chloroformate.
4, it can be used for synthesizing polycarbonate, diphenyl carbonate, and isocyanate and so on.
5, in the field of medicine, it can be for the synthesis of anti-infective drugs, anti-inflammatory medicines, vitamin-class medicines and central nervous system drugs.
6, in the field of pesticides, it can be mainly used for the production of methyl isocyanate, thereby producing some carbamate drugs, pesticides (anisole).
7, it can be used as gasoline additives and lithium battery electrolyte and so on.
The above information is edited by the chemicalbook of Dai Xiongfeng.
Chemical Properties
It is colorless liquid with a pungent odor. It is insoluble in water and soluble in alcohol, ether and other organic solvents.
Uses
Dimethyl carbonate product can be used as traditional substitute of toxic materials phosgene, dimethyl sulfate and methyl chloride and so on. It can be used for synthesis of polycarbonate, diphenyl carbonate, isocyanate and allyl diglycol carbonate ester; it can also used for the synthesis of various kinds of carbamate pesticides such as carbaryl and so on; it can also be used as intermediate of organic synthesis such as anisole, dimethoxybenzene, alkylated aryl amines, symmetrical diamine urea, methyl carbazate and so on; in the pharmaceutical industry, it can be used for making amino oxazolidinone, ciprofloxacin, β-keto acid ester class pharmaceutical intermediates. In addition, it can be used as additives of gasoline, diesel fuel, the refrigerator oil and solvent.
Production method
It can be produced through the reaction between methyl chloroformate ([79-22-1]) and methanol. The raw material, methyl chloroformate is produced from the reaction between methanol and phosgene. For the preparation, it is also plausible to have this phosgenation product been without isolation and add excess methanol for reflux reaction to synthesize dimethyl carbonate. The above reaction is called conventional phosgene method. 2 Transesterification methods: this is based on the transesterification between ethylene carbonate or propylene carbonate and methanol which can also produce dimethyl carbonate. This method has a high yield, small equipment corrosion and mild reaction conditions. However, the source of raw materials is limited by the development of petrochemical industry and the elements utilization rate is low. 3. Oxidative carbonylation method: this is based on the reaction of methanol, carbon monoxide and oxygen in the catalyst for direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate. This method has a lot of advantages including easily available and cheap raw material, low toxicity and simple process. Therefore, it is the most promising approach. According to the technology conditions, it can be divided into liquid phase method and gas phase method. Gas phase can be further divided into one-step and two-step method, wherein the liquid phase of methanol oxidation-carbonylation method and the gas-phase oxidative carbonylation step method has been industrialized while the one-step way of gas-phase oxidative-carbonylation of methanol is still in development. 4. The synthesis reaction between methanol and CO2. This process route is still in development. 5. Synthesis method via reaction between methanol and urea. This process route is still in development.
Category
Flammable liquid
Toxicity grading
Low toxicity
Acute toxicity
Oral-rat LD50: 13000 mg/kg; Oral-Mouse LD50: 6000 mg/kg.
Flammability and hazard characteristics
It is flammable in case of fire, high temperature and oxidant with burning causing irritated fume.
Storage characteristics
Treasury: ventilation, low-temperature and dry; store it separately from oxidants.
Extinguishing agent
Dry powder dry sand, carbon dioxide, foam, 1211 fire extinguishing agent.

Spectrum Detail
Dimethyl carbonate(616-38-6) ¹H NMR
Dimethyl carbonate(616-38-6) IR1
Dimethyl carbonate(616-38-6) MS
Dimethyl carbonate(616-38-6) ¹³C NMR
Dimethyl carbonate(616-38-6) Raman

Acros Organics
Dimethyl carbonate, 99%(616-38-6)
Alfa Aesar
Dimethyl carbonate, 99%(616-38-6)
Sigma Aldrich
616-38-6(sigmaaldrich)
TCI AMERICA
Dimethyl Carbonate,>98.0%(GC)(616-38-6)