MeOH vs EtOH Wash

[evanmurad]

A chemical reaction that appears interesting calls for washing of the product with methanol then allowing the product to dry, can this be substituted  for ethanol or IPA?

I assume, probably incorrectly, that methanol is chosen because of its ease of evaporation under STP and that the heavier alcohols would clean less in the wash and evaporate slower.

[IndieSci]

The properties of EtOH and MeOH are pretty close to the same when it comes to things like this and they should be able to be substituted by one another.

[blightcutter]

The only difference between these two that I feel would have any relevance here is the higher melting and boiling points of the EtOH.

[evanmurad]

The only difference between these two that I feel would have any relevance here is the higher melting and boiling points of the EtOH.

If its a wash it, shouldn't the boiling/melting points not be to important. Unless I am vacuum distilling while drying. Correct?

The properties of EtOH and MeOH are pretty close to the same when it comes to things like this and they should be able to be substituted by one another.

Thank you.

[IndieSci]

Yes, but they both have fairly low specific heats, and are only 15-ish degrees different so they both evaporate pretty fast. So I wouldn't be to worried about one evaporating to slowly.
Methanol is toxic also, so you may want to keep that in mind if you are not properly using it.

[Dan]

A chemical reaction that appears interesting calls for washing of the product with methanol then allowing the product to dry, can this be substituted  for ethanol or IPA?

Probably, depends on what you're washing off and the nature of the product. Without more information about the procedure it's not really possible to to say with confidence.

For example, if your product contains a methyl ester and is contaminated with strong acid or base, choosing ethanol to wash the product may result in some transesterifiaction to give traces of the corresponding ethyl ester - in this case it might be necessary to use methanol for reasons other than volatility.

It is also possible that your product will be too soluble (or the impurities too insoluble) in IPA to make it an effective washing solvent, this depends on the structure. Methanol and ethanol are about the same in terms of polarity, but IPA has significantly lower dielectric constant.

Try it and see....