It is a colorless liquid with a slight peppermint or camphor odor.
The carbonyl group can undergo the usual reactions (hydrogenation, reductive amination, etc.).
It is a Schedule 3 compound under the Chemical Weapons Convention 1993, due to being related to pinacolyl alcohol, which is used in the production of soman.
[4] Industrially pinacolone is made by the hydrolysis of 4,4,5-trimethyl-1,3-dioxane, which is the product of isoprene and formaldehyde via the Prins reaction.
[5] Pinacolone is produced in large amounts for use in fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides.