Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Methylation with ether

Alastair - 15-12-2011 at 07:31

I had this idea for a couple of days now, I wonder if it has been heard of.




Methylation.jpg - 17kB

I didnt find anything on it yet, but looks interesting.

entropy51 - 15-12-2011 at 09:02

Quote: Originally posted by Alastair  
I had this idea for a couple of days now, I wonder if it has been heard of.

I didnt find anything on it yet, but looks interesting.
Without references or experimental data it's just a brain fart. And an unliikely one at that. Why don't you try the experiment and report back to us?

gsd - 15-12-2011 at 10:18

@Alastair

Refer to the attached paper.
Not quite the way you dreamed it, but yes, it seems DME can be used as a methylating reagent.

gsd

Attachment: Methylation of Alkenes and Methylbenzenes by Dimethyl Ether or Methanol on Acidic Zeolites.pdf (171kB)
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AndersHoveland - 15-12-2011 at 20:20

That proposed reaction looks as though it would work to me. From what I have read, dimethyl ether apparently is fairly resistant to further dehydration (charring) by concentrated sulfuric acid.

Alastair - 17-12-2011 at 04:58

I would have gladly tried it, but i am not very wealthy on chemicals at the moment. I just didnt want to keep it for myself, mayhap someone will get interested and try it.