Dimethylamine

• Methyl methane amine
• N, N- dimethylamine

Colorless gas with a fishy odor

Gaseous

0.67 g · cm -3 ( at the boiling point v. 7 ° C)

-92.2 ° C

7 ° C

1688 hPa (20 ° C)

10.71

• Readily soluble in water ( 354 g · l-1 at 20 ° C)
• Soluble in ethanol, diethyl ether and chloroform

Risk

2 ppm, 3.7 mg · m-3

-18.8 KJ / mol

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search available

Dimethylamine is a colorless, flammable gas with an intense odor. It dissolves very well in water and reacts as a base. It comes as an aqueous solution and a pressure-liquefied gas in the trade.

Production and representation

The large scale production of dimethylamine is carried out by the reaction of methanol and ammonia, at temperatures of 370-430 ° C and pressures of 20-30 bar. The reaction is carried out in the gas phase on acidic heterogeneous catalysts based on silicon and aluminum oxides. Reaction products formed next to dimethylamine and water, methylamine CH3NH2 and trimethylamine ( CH3) 3N:

The purification and workup of the reaction mixture is carried out by multi-stage distillation under pressure.

Properties

Physical Properties

At room temperature dimethylamine is a colorless gas. It can be liquefied by cooling or pressure increase. Dimethylamine is highly soluble in water and methanol. It has an intense, fishy ammoniacal odor.

Chemical Properties

Dimethylamine is a strong base ( pK b 3.29 ) and forms with acids and therefore salts with water an alkaline solution. By reaction with alkylating agents, alkylene oxides, carbonyl compounds, organic acids, etc. can be converted to dimethylamine many subsequent connections.

Use

Dimethylamine is usually used as methylamine intermediate for the production of numerous substances such as solvents, pesticides, vulcanization, antioxidants, rocket fuels, dimethylglycine, quaternary ammonium salts, detergents, pharmaceuticals and dyes. In the laboratory, it is used to introduce the dimethylamino group. It comes as a 40 - to 60 % aqueous solution or as a pressure-liquefied gas in cylinders in the trade. All subsequent products are substances such as dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Since dimethylamine can also be used for the production of toxic gases and for the synthesis of illegal drugs, the trade is subject to special statutory restrictions.