Trimethyl orthoformate is a highly volatile, ethereal chemical with a sharp, alcoholic-solventy odor reminiscent of methanol with a faint sweet-etheric edge. It is primarily used as a chemical reagent rather than a perfumery ingredient, and flashes off quickly leaving little residue.AI · claude-opus-4-7
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Perfume and Flavor Chemicals, page 1340.
Colorless mobile liquid
Slightly soluble in water, miscible with alcohol and oils
Very diffusive, ethereal, pungent or nauseating odor, pleasant in dilution, slightly winey-fruity, Brandy-like
Sweet taste in concentrations below 100ppm. Barely perceptible at 10 ppm
The title material has found a little use in perfume compositions for the powerful 'lift' and the winey-ethereal topnote it can introduce. It will add mellowness to an alcoholic solution (Colognes, etc.) and give impression of completed ageing.
Produced from Chloroform and Sodium methoxide in Methanol (Williamsons synthesis)