Diisopropyl ether appears as a clear colorless liquid with an ethereal odor. Flash point -18°F. Less dense than water. Vapors heavier than air.

1. It is a good solvent for animal, vegetable and mineral oils and fats, and can be used to extract nicotine from tobacco; it is also a good solvent for paraffin waxes and resins.

2. Industrially, diisopropyl ether is often mixed with other solvents and used in the dewaxing process of paraffinic base oils.

3. As a solvent, it is also used in pharmaceuticals, smokeless gunpowder, coatings and paint cleaning. Diisopropyl ether has high octane number and antifreeze properties and can be used as a gasoline blending agent.

4. This product readily forms peroxides and may explode upon shaking; p-benzylaminophenol is often added as a stabilizer. The anesthetic effect of isopropyl ether is weaker than that of diethyl ether, but the duration of anesthesia is longer.

5. Used as a solvent for the concentration and recovery of dilute acetic acid or butyric acid solutions; used as an extraction solvent for sodium thiocyanate in the wet-process acrylic fiber production. Used as a chromatographic analytical standard and also in organic synthesis.