Chemical Properties
Ebanol is a mixture of isomers. It is a pale yellow liquid with a powerful
woody, sandalwood odor withmusk aspect.Thematerial is obtained by aldol
condensation of α-campholenaldehyde with 2-butanone. Subsequent isomerization
of the double bond with potassium tert-butylate leads to a ??,??-unsaturated
ketone, which is reduced with NaBH
4 to yield a mixture of chiefly four diastereomeric
alcohols. Alternatively, the ??,??-unsaturated ketone can be prepared
by dehydration of the ketol, which is obtained when the aldol reaction is performed
under special reaction conditions.
It is used in fine fragrances as well as in functional products.