Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 30, 2026

Ethyl hexanoate

Ethyl hexanoate is an organic compound with the formula C2H5O2C(CH2)6CH3. A colorless oily liquid, is the ester resulting from the condensation of hexanoic acid and ethanol. It has fruity aroma similar to apple peel and pineapple. It is a flavor component of baijiu.

Last revised
Jul 30, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
260 w
Citations
8
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Ethyl hexanoate
source ↗
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Ethyl hexanoate
Other names
Ethyl caproate
Caproic acid ethyl ester
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.004.220
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C8H16O2/c1-3-5-6-7-8(9)10-4-2/h3-7H2,1-2H3 ☒N
    Key: SHZIWNPUGXLXDT-UHFFFAOYSA-N ☒N
  • InChI=1/C8H16O2/c1-3-5-6-7-8(9)10-4-2/h3-7H2,1-2H3
    Key: SHZIWNPUGXLXDT-UHFFFAOYAA
  • CCCCCC(=O)OCC
Properties
C8H16O2
Molar mass 144.214 g·mol−1
Appearance Colorless liquid1
Odor Fruity1
Density 0.87 g/cm31
Melting point −67 °C (−89 °F; 206 K)1
Boiling point 168 °C (334 °F; 441 K)1
Hazards
GHS labelling:2
GHS02: Flammable
Warning
H226
P210, P233, P240, P241, P242, P243, P280, P303+P361+P353, P370+P378, P403+P235, P501
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Ethyl hexanoate is an organic compound with the formula C2H5O2C(CH2)6CH3. A colorless oily liquid, is the ester resulting from the condensation of hexanoic acid and ethanol. It has fruity aroma similar to apple peel.3 It is a flavor component of baijiu.4

References

References

  1. Record in the GESTIS Substance Database of the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  2. PubChem. "Ethyl hexanoate". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  3. Zheng LY, Sun GM, Liu YG, Lv LL, Yang WX, Zhao WF, Wei CB (2012-06-14). "Aroma volatile compounds from two fresh pineapple varieties in China". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 13 (6): 7383–92. Bibcode:2012IJMSc..13.7383Z. doi:10.3390/ijms13067383. PMC 3397533. PMID 22837701.
  4. Liu, Huilin; Sun, Baoguo (2018). "Effect of Fermentation Processing on the Flavor of Baijiu". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 66 (22): 5425–5432. Bibcode:2018JAFC...66.5425L. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.8b00692. PMID 29751730.