Skip to Content
Merck
All Photos(8)

Key Documents

221473

Sigma-Aldrich

Potassium hydroxide

ACS reagent, ≥85%, pellets

Synonym(s):

Caustic potash

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing


About This Item

Linear Formula:
KOH
CAS Number:
Molecular Weight:
56.11
EC Number:
MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
12352106
eCl@ss:
38100303
PubChem Substance ID:
NACRES:
NA.21

grade

ACS reagent

Quality Level

Agency

suitable for EPA 1621
suitable for EPA 1633

vapor pressure

1 mmHg ( 719 °C)

Assay

≥85%

form

pellets

impurities

≤0.001% N compounds
≤2.0% K2CO3
10-15% water

pH

~13.5 (25 °C, 5.6 g/L)

mp

361 °C (lit.)

anion traces

chloride (Cl-): ≤0.01%
phosphate (PO43-): ≤5 ppm
sulfate (SO42-): ≤0.003%

cation traces

Ca: ≤0.005%
Fe: ≤0.001%
Mg: ≤0.002%
Na: ≤0.05%
Ni: ≤0.001%
heavy metals: ≤0.001% (by ICP)

storage temp.

room temp

SMILES string

[OH-].[K+]

InChI

1S/K.H2O/h;1H2/q+1;/p-1

InChI key

KWYUFKZDYYNOTN-UHFFFAOYSA-M

Looking for similar products? Visit Product Comparison Guide

General description

Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic salt mainly used as a precursor to synthesize other potassium compounds such as potassium acetate, potassium bicarbonate and potassium carbonate. On a commercial scale, it is synthesized by the electrolysis of potassium chloride.

Application

Potassium hydroxide may be used in the following processes:
  • Conversion of nitriles to amide in tert-butanol.
  • Cross-coupling of aryl halides with different sulfur-, oxygen- and nitrogen-based nucleophiles in dimethyl sulfoxide.
  • As an activator for the preparation of activated carbons from corn cobs.
  • As a base for the N-alkylation of nitrogen heterocycles in polyethylene glycol-ether solvents.
  • Synthesis of (S)-1-(4-benzyl-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)propan-1-one from (S)-phenylalaninol.
  • To catalyze the polymerization of propylene oxide.

Pictograms

CorrosionExclamation mark

Signal Word

Danger

Hazard Statements

Hazard Classifications

Acute Tox. 4 Oral - Eye Dam. 1 - Met. Corr. 1 - Skin Corr. 1A

Storage Class Code

8A - Combustible corrosive hazardous materials

WGK

WGK 1

Flash Point(F)

Not applicable

Flash Point(C)

Not applicable


Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Search for Certificates of Analysis (COA) by entering the products Lot/Batch Number. Lot and Batch Numbers can be found on a product’s label following the words ‘Lot’ or ‘Batch’.

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

Customers Also Viewed

N-Alkylation of pyrrole, indole, and several other nitrogen heterocycles using potassium hydroxide as a base in the presence of polyethylene glycols or their dialkyl ethers
Sukata K
Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 56(1), 280-284 (1983)
Potassium acetate by fermentation with Clostridium thermoaceticum
Shah MM, et al.
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (1997)
Dimethyl Sulfoxide/Potassium Hydroxide: A Superbase for the Transition Metal-Free Preparation of Cross-Coupling Products
Yuan Y, et al
Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis, 352(17), 2892-2898 (2010)
Ledgard J
The Preparatory Manual of Explosives., 79-79 (2009)
A study of the polymerization of propylene oxide catalyzed by anhydrous potassium hydroxide
Steiner EC, et al
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 86(21), 4678-4686 (1964)

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service