Sodium ethyl xanthate Sodium ethyl xanthate Sodium ethyl xanthate (SEX) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CHCHOCSNa. It is a pale yellow powder, which is usually obtained as the dihydrate. Sodium ethyl xanthate is used in the mining industry as a flotation agent. A closely related potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) is obtained as the anhydrous salt. As with most xanthates, sodium ethyl xanthate can be prepared by treating sodium ethoxide with carbon disulfide: Sodium ethyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder. It is relatively stable in water at high pH if not heated. It rapidly hydrolyses at pH <9 at 25
Ethyl group referring to "stuff". The name "ethyl" was coined in 1835 by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius. Ethyl group In chemistry, an ethyl group is an alkyl substituent derived from ethane (CH). It has the formula –CHCH and is very often abbreviated Et. Ethyl is used in the IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry for a saturated two-carbon moiety in a molecule, whilst the prefix "eth-" is used to indicate the presence of two carbon atoms in the molecule. Ethylation is the formation of a compound by introduction of the ethyl group. The most widely practiced example of this reaction is