Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula C7H14O2. It is a colorless liquid that is only slightly soluble in water, but very soluble in most organic solvents. Isoamyl acetate has a strong odor which is described as similar to both banana and pear.[3] Pure isoamyl acetate, or mixtures of isoamyl acetate, amyl acetate, and other flavors in ethanol may be referred to as banana oil[4] or pear oil.[5]
It is also used as a solvent for some varnishes, oil paints, and nitrocellulose lacquers. As a solvent and carrier for materials such as nitrocellulose, it was extensively used in the aircraft industry for stiffening and wind-proofing fabric flying surfaces, where it and its derivatives were generally known as 'aircraft dope'. Now that most aircraft wings are made of metal, such use is mostly limited to historically accurate reproductions and scale models.
Because of its intense, pleasant odor and its low toxicity, isoamyl acetate is used to test the effectiveness of respirators or gas masks.[11]
^Karl-Georg Fahlbusch, Franz-Josef Hammerschmidt, Johannes Panten, Wilhelm Pickenhagen, Dietmar Schatkowski, Kurt Bauer, Dorothea Garbe, Horst Surburg "Flavors and Fragrances" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2002. doi:10.1002/14356007.a11_141.
^"T3DB: Isopentyl acetate". Toxin and Toxin Target Database (T3DB). Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Foundation for Innovation, and by The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
^"Isoamyl acetate Taxonomy". PubChem. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
^Boch R; Shearer DA; Stone BC (September 8, 1962). "Identification of isoamyl acetate as an active component in the sting pheromone of the honey bee". Nature. 195 (4845). England: Nature Publishing Group: 1018–20. Bibcode:1962Natur.195.1018B. doi:10.1038/1951018b0. PMID13870346. S2CID4224788.