2M2B testing

[tidest]

how would one go about testing a batch of 2-methyl-2-butanol?
not finding many obvious resources off the cuff, but that makes sense, it probably wouldn't be reagent testable ^^'
(i'd actually figure the method would be similar to EtOH, but that's not easy to research either, given its accessibility ><)

i'd figure that one'd check its density and other characteristics, make sure they line up with the data we'd expect?
in addition to, of course, an allergy test and starting low and slow, standard practices for any new substance ^^

thanks for any input y'alls've got ^^

 

[Transform]

A lab test would obviously be ideal, and in many countries there are organisations that offer free testing. FTIR alone would give a chemist a lot of information.

If that's not a possibility, it depends what kind of adulterants or substitutions you expect. If you need to determine whether there is 1ppm of novichok nerve agent then nothing except mass spectrometry will be adequate. If you just want to check you weren't sent a completely different chemical, the challenge is different.

Since it's legal to produce in many countries, it's likely that it's either the correct substance (extremely likely to have positional isomers present) or a complete substitute due to incompetence/fraud. So a simple test of the known chemical properties would be good.

tert-Amyl alcohol - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Check it freezes in a household freezer. Check the boiling point (fire risk). Check the water solubility. Density. Refractive index if you have any brewing equipment? Be aware that water content will tweak these properties slightly.