Triethylamine CAS 121-44-8

Triethylamine is mainly used as alkali, catalyst, solvent and raw material in organic synthesis, and also used as high-energy fuel, rubber vulcanization accelerator, polymerization inhibitor of tetrafluoroethylene, surfactant, wetting agent, preservative and bactericide .

Triethylamine is the simplest three-substituted tertiary amine that is liquid at room temperature, so it is widely used as a solvent and base in organic synthesis, generally abbreviated as Et3N, NEt3 or TEA. It is one of the most commonly used organic bases in organic synthesis. It has a boiling point of about 89 degrees Celsius and is relatively easy to remove by distillation. The solubility of its hydrochloride and hydrobromide in organic solvents such as ether is not very high, so it can sometimes be separated directly by filtration. The simpler trimethylamine is a colorless gas under normal conditions and must be stored in a gas storage tank under pressure or in the form of a 40% aqueous solution, which is not as easy to use as triethylamine.

Triethylamine can be used in elimination reactions such as Swern oxidation reaction, dehydrohalogenation reaction, Heck reaction, preparation reaction of silanol ether, reaction of preparation of ester and amide from acid chloride, and protection of hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups base catalyst. It reacts with hydrochloric acid to obtain triethylamine hydrochloride, and reacts with an alkylating agent to obtain the corresponding quaternary ammonium salt. Triethylamine and unsaturated acid chlorides/anhydrides will produce water-soluble, biotoxic conjugated complexes, especially for the synthesis of biomaterials, and this reaction will have a significant impact on subsequent cell experiments. It has recently been reported that this complex can have a dyeing effect on cross-linkable polyesters obtained by condensation of unsaturated acid chlorides/anhydrides with terminal hydroxyl groups of polymers. Inorganic weak bases such as potassium carbonate have been suggested to replace triethylamine as a catalyst in this type of reaction, and this method can simplify the purification steps of the product at the same time.