Diethylamine

Diethylamine is an organic compound with the formula. It is classified as a secondary amine. It is a flammable, volatile weakly alkaline liquid that is miscible with most solvents. It is a colorless liquid, but commercial samples often appear brown due to impurities. It has a strong ammonia-like odor.

Production and uses

The alumina-catalyzed reaction makes diethylamine from ethanol and ammonia. Diethylamine is obtained together with ethylamine and triethylamine. Annual production of the three ethylamines was estimated in 2000 to be 80,000,000 kg.
Diethylamine is used in the production of the corrosion inhibitor N,''N''-diethylaminoethanol, by reaction with ethylene oxide. It is also a precursor to a wide variety of other commercial products. It is also sometimes used in the illicit production of LSD.

Organic chemistry

As the most abundantly available secondary amine that is liquid at room temperature, diethylamine has been extensively deployed in chemical synthesis. Its reactions illustrate the pattern seen for many other dialkylamines. It participates in Mannich reactions involving the installation of diethylaminomethyl substituents. Alkylation gives the tertiary amine. With trimethylsilyl chloride, it reacts to give the silylamide.

Supramolecular structure

Diethylamine is the smallest and simplest molecule that features a supramolecular helix as its lowest energy aggregate. Other similarly sized hydrogen-bonding molecules favor cyclic structures.

Safety

Diethylamine has low toxicity, but the vapor causes transient impairment of vision.