Physical and chemical properties Methyl acetate, chemical formula CH3COOCH3. Molecular weight 74.08. Colorless, flammable liquid with chloroform odor. Spicy. Volatile. Naturally found in grapes and bananas. Melting point -98.1℃, boiling point 57℃ (101.3325kPa), relative density 0.9330, refractive index 1.3595. Soluble in ethanol, ether, water, acetone, benzene, chloroform. Soluble in water up to 24% at 20℃. Can dissolve many metal salts, and produce CO2, H2 and CO by ultraviolet irradiation. At high temperature, it reacts with thorium oxide to produce acetone, methyl ether and CO2. Vapor forms explosive mixture with air, with explosion limit of 4.1% to 14.0% (volume fraction). It is anesthetic, slightly irritating to mucous membranes, and weaker than ethyl acetate. LD503.2g/kg (rat).