ethyl nitrite

The chemical compound ethyl nitrite is an alkyl nitrite.

Dimethylglyoxime can be prepared from butanone first by reaction with ethyl nitrite followed by sodium hydroxylamine monosulfonate:

The first few members of the series are volatile liquids; methyl nitrite and ethyl nitrite are gaseous at room temperature and pressure.

Examples are the reaction of ethyl acetoacetate and sodium nitrite in acetic acid, the reaction of methyl ethyl ketone with ethyl nitrite in hydrochloric acid.

They compared the biological action of potassium nitrite with that of amyl and ethyl nitrites and concluded, rather interestingly, that the similarity of action depends on the conversion of organic nitrites to nitrous acid.

Only the cis isomer crystallizes and used in the next reaction step, a ring opening with the alkyl nitrite ethyl nitrite with sodium ethoxide in ethanol to 10 with a newly formed carboxylic ester group and an oxime group.