DM - Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether

About This Product

Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, DM, DEGME or methyl carbitol, has the formula C5H12O3 and CAS number 111-77-3. It is a clear colourless liquid of low volatility, fully miscible with water and with most organic solvents. Adding a second ethylene glycol unit to EM changes both the physical and the regulatory picture. Physically, the boiling point rises well above 190 degrees Celsius and evaporation becomes very slow, so DM behaves as a high-boiling coupling solvent rather than a flash-off solvent. Toxicologically, the metabolic route that makes the short-chain ethylene ethers problematic depends on cleaving to methoxyacetic acid, and the extended backbone is not cleaved in the same way, so DM does not carry the reproductive toxicity category 1B classification applied to EM and EE. It is classified for reproductive toxicity in some jurisdictions at a lower category and is restricted in certain consumer paint strippers, so destination-market status should still be confirmed. Its low volatility and high water miscibility make it useful where a solvent must stay in the system. It is used in brake fluids and hydraulic fluids, coatings and inks, textile dyeing, cleaning formulations and as a coupling solvent. Bio Green Chem supplies DM to specification on assay, water, acidity, colour, residue and peroxide value.