2-Butanol, or
sec-butanol, is an
organic compound with
formula CH3CH(
OH)CH
2CH
3. This
secondary alcohol is a flammable, colorless liquid that is soluble in 3 parts water and completely miscible with polar organic solvents such as
ethers and other
alcohols. It is produced on a large scale, primarily as a precursor to the industrial solvent
methyl ethyl ketone. 2-Butanol is
chiral and thus can be obtained as either of two
stereoisomers designated as
(R)-(-)-2-butanol and
(S)-(+)-2-butanol. It is normally found as an equal mixture of the two stereoisomers — a
racemic mixture.