Menshutkin reaction | |
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Named after | Nikolai Menshutkin |
Reaction type | Coupling reaction |
Identifiers | |
RSC ontology ID | RXNO:0000223 |
In organic chemistry, the Menshutkin reaction converts a tertiary amine into a quaternary ammonium salt by reaction with an alkyl halide. Similar reactions occur when tertiary phosphines are treated with alkyl halides.
The reaction is the method of choice for the preparation of quaternary ammonium salts. [1] Some phase transfer catalysts (PTC) can be prepared according to the Menshutkin reaction, for instance the synthesis of triethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (TEBA) from triethylamine and benzyl chloride:
Reactions are typically conducted in polar solvents such as alcohols. [1] Alkyl iodides are superior alkylating agents relative to the bromides, which in turn are superior to chlorides. As is typical for an SN2 process, benzylic, allylic, and α-carbonylated alkyl halides are excellent reactants. Even though alkyl chlorides are poor alkylating agents (gem-dichlorides especially so), amines should not be handled in chlorinated solvents such as dichloromethane and dichloroethane, especially at high temperatures, due to the possibility of a Menshutkin reaction. (Sometimes, kinetically facile reactions like acylations are sometimes conducted in chlorinated solvents nonetheless.) Highly nucleophilic tertiary amines like DABCO will react with dichloromethane at room temperature overnight and at reflux (39-40 °C) over several hours to give the quaternized product (see the article on Selectfluor). Due to steric hindrance and unfavorable electronic properties, chloroform reacts very slowly with tertiary amines over a period of several weeks to months. [2] Even pyridines, which are considerably less nucleophilic than typical tertiary amines, react with dichloromethane at room temperature over a period of several days to weeks to give bis(pyridinium)methane salts. [3]
In addition to solvent and alkylating agent, other factors strongly influence the reaction. In one particular macrocycle system the reaction rate is not only accelerated (150000 fold compared to quinuclidine) but the halide order is also changed
The reaction is named after its discoverer, Nikolai Menshutkin, who described the procedure in 1890. [5] [6] [7] [8] Depending on the source, his name (and the reaction named after him) is spelled as Menšutkin, Menshutkin, or Menschutkin.
In chemistry, amines are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group. Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines, trimethylamine, and aniline. Inorganic derivatives of ammonia are also called amines, such as monochloramine.
The haloalkanes are alkanes containing one or more halogen substituents. They are a subset of the general class of halocarbons, although the distinction is not often made. Haloalkanes are widely used commercially. They are used as flame retardants, fire extinguishants, refrigerants, propellants, solvents, and pharmaceuticals. Subsequent to the widespread use in commerce, many halocarbons have also been shown to be serious pollutants and toxins. For example, the chlorofluorocarbons have been shown to lead to ozone depletion. Methyl bromide is a controversial fumigant. Only haloalkanes that contain chlorine, bromine, and iodine are a threat to the ozone layer, but fluorinated volatile haloalkanes in theory may have activity as greenhouse gases. Methyl iodide, a naturally occurring substance, however, does not have ozone-depleting properties and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has designated the compound a non-ozone layer depleter. For more information, see Halomethane. Haloalkane or alkyl halides are the compounds which have the general formula "RX" where R is an alkyl or substituted alkyl group and X is a halogen.
Dichloromethane is an organochlorine compound with the formula CH2Cl2. This colorless, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like, sweet odor is widely used as a solvent. Although it is not miscible with water, it is slightly polar, and miscible with many organic solvents.
The year 1890 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.
The Williamson ether synthesis is an organic reaction, forming an ether from an organohalide and a deprotonated alcohol (alkoxide). This reaction was developed by Alexander Williamson in 1850. Typically it involves the reaction of an alkoxide ion with a primary alkyl halide via an SN2 reaction. This reaction is important in the history of organic chemistry because it helped prove the structure of ethers.
Alkylation is a chemical reaction that entails transfer of an alkyl group. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion, or a carbene. Alkylating agents are reagents for effecting alkylation. Alkyl groups can also be removed in a process known as dealkylation. Alkylating agents are often classified according to their nucleophilic or electrophilic character. In oil refining contexts, alkylation refers to a particular alkylation of isobutane with olefins. For upgrading of petroleum, alkylation produces a premium blending stock for gasoline. In medicine, alkylation of DNA is used in chemotherapy to damage the DNA of cancer cells. Alkylation is accomplished with the class of drugs called alkylating antineoplastic agents.
Organochlorine chemistry is concerned with the properties of organochlorine compounds, or organochlorides, organic compounds containing at least one covalently bonded atom of chlorine. The chloroalkane class includes common examples. The wide structural variety and divergent chemical properties of organochlorides lead to a broad range of names, applications, and properties. Organochlorine compounds have wide use in many applications, though some are of profound environmental concern, with TCDD being one of the most notorious.
In organic chemistry, quaternary ammonium cations, also known as quats, are positively-charged polyatomic ions of the structure [NR4]+, where R is an alkyl group, an aryl group or organyl group. Unlike the ammonium ion and the primary, secondary, or tertiary ammonium cations, the quaternary ammonium cations are permanently charged, independent of the pH of their solution. Quaternary ammonium salts or quaternary ammonium compounds are salts of quaternary ammonium cations. Polyquats are a variety of engineered polymer forms which provide multiple quat molecules within a larger molecule.
The Appel reaction is an organic reaction that converts an alcohol into an alkyl chloride using triphenylphosphine and carbon tetrachloride. The use of carbon tetrabromide or bromine as a halide source will yield alkyl bromides, whereas using carbon tetraiodide, methyl iodide or iodine gives alkyl iodides. The reaction is credited to and named after Rolf Appel, it had however been described earlier. The use of this reaction is becoming less common, due to carbon tetrachloride being restricted under the Montreal protocol.
In chemistry, the term phosphonium describes polyatomic cations with the chemical formula PR+
4. These cations have tetrahedral structures. The salts are generally colorless or take the color of the anions.
A hydrohalogenation reaction is the electrophilic addition of hydrogen halides like hydrogen chloride or hydrogen bromide to alkenes to yield the corresponding haloalkanes.
Triphenylphosphine (IUPAC name: triphenylphosphane) is a common organophosphorus compound with the formula P(C6H5)3 and often abbreviated to PPh3 or Ph3P. It is versatile compound that is widely used as a reagent in organic synthesis and as a ligand for transition metal complexes, including ones that serve as catalysts in organometallic chemistry. PPh3 exists as relatively air stable, colorless crystals at room temperature. It dissolves in non-polar organic solvents such as benzene and diethyl ether.
The Michaelis–Arbuzov reaction is the chemical reaction of a trivalent phosphorus ester with an alkyl halide to form a pentavalent phosphorus species and another alkyl halide. The picture below shows the most common types of substrates undergoing the Arbuzov reaction; phosphite esters (1) react to form phosphonates (2), phosphonites (3) react to form phosphinates (4) and phosphinites (5) react to form phosphine oxides (6).
N,N-Diisopropylethylamine, or Hünig's base, is an organic compound that is a tertiary amine. It is named after the German chemist Siegfried Hünig. It is used in organic chemistry as a non-nucleophilic base. It is commonly abbreviated as DIPEA,DIEA, or i-Pr2NEt.
Benzyl chloride, or α-chlorotoluene, is an organic compound with the formula C6H5CH2Cl. This colorless liquid is a reactive organochlorine compound that is a widely used chemical building block.
In chemistry, dehydrohalogenation is an elimination reaction which removes a hydrogen halide from a substrate. The reaction is usually associated with the synthesis of alkenes, but it has wider applications.
The Delépine reaction is the organic synthesis of primary amines (4) by reaction of benzyl or alkyl halides (1) with hexamethylenetetramine (2) followed by acid hydrolysis of the quaternary ammonium salt (3). It is named after the French chemist Stéphane Marcel Delépine (1871–1965).
Tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) is a quaternary ammonium compound with the chemical formula C8H20N+Br−, often written as "Et4N+Br−" in the chemical literature. It has been used as the source of tetraethylammonium ions in pharmacological and physiological studies, but is also used in organic chemical synthesis.
Amine alkylation (amino-dehalogenation) is a type of organic reaction between an alkyl halide and ammonia or an amine. The reaction is called nucleophilic aliphatic substitution, and the reaction product is a higher substituted amine. The method is widely used in the laboratory, but less so industrially, where alcohols are often preferred alkylating agents.
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Menshutkin was a Russian chemist who discovered the process of converting a tertiary amine to a quaternary ammonium salt via the reaction with an alkyl halide, now known as the Menshutkin reaction.