Doug Miller wrote:
In article , David Peters wrote:

Does propanol's "three carbons and one hydroxyl" mean that it is
more likely than ethanol (with only two carbons and one hydroxyl)
to actually DISSOLVE some types of plastics which I am might be
trying to clean?


Don't know about your side of the pond, but over here (US) propanol is
normally sold in plastic bottles. I've used 2-propanol to clean a lot of
things, and never had it damage any plastic.

IMO your premise is wrong (that a longer-chain moleule is more likely to
dissolve plastic than a shorter one). I've also successfully used paint
thinner (mineral spirits) to clean various plastics without damage. And I've
not observed gasoline to be particularly harmful to plastics either. OTOH,
acetone (2-propanone) and MEK (2-butanone) are terribly destructive to many
common plastics. IOW, it ain't the length of the chain, but what's attached to
it, that does the damage.


Actually, what he stated is generally correct, but
ethanol and propanol are very close, so one would
probably never see any significant difference.

Of course, what you said is correct also, what is
on the end is important, but when comparing two
alcohols, the same thing is on the end.

As for plastics, oil has some fairly long chains
and it is sold in plastic bottles and oil/gas
mixtures certainly don't bother the oil bottle
plastics. And then of course, there are plastic
gas containers. It would be a pretty lousy
plastic that would be bothered by methanol,
ethanol, or propanol.