When combined with ethanol, ethyl ether finds use as a solvent for cellulose nitrate in gunpowder manufacture and pyroxylin plastics. Ethyl ether also finds use in pharmaceuticals as a solvent for drugs, and also because of the toxicity of the vapors, can be used as an insecticide and fumigant.
Ethers represent a class of materials which can become more dangerous with prolonged storage because they tend to form explosive peroxides with age. Exposure to light and air enhance the formation of the peroxides.
Ether is an organic compound in which two carbon atoms are linked through an oxygen atom (C-O-C). An ether may be a product of the condensation of alcohols.