Sciencemadness Discussion Board

dodecylamine

C.R.Menon - 24-6-2012 at 13:59

I am a bacteriologist and doing experiments with a compound dodecylamine (lauryl amine). I am unable to get the compound in India. I am required to import 1000 kgs from china.

My requirement is few kgs.
Is there a lab method to prepare dodecylamine.

Thanks

Zan Divine - 24-6-2012 at 15:32

That depends on what dodecyl compounds are available to you. Aliphatic amines are classically made from halides, and halides from alcohols.

If you can access the alcohol, you can change it into the bromide with HBr which is made in situ from bromide ion + sulfuric or phosphoric acids.

The bromide can be reacted with potassium phthalimide and the resultant compound hydrolyzed by acid or base to give the amine.

If you can buy dodecyl bromide it will be to your advantage to do so.

No insult intended but if you can't find a literature method for this simple compound, I have to wonder how you could expect to actually make it. Especially kilos, that is a fairly big job.



[Edited on 25-6-2012 by Zan Divine]

Nicodem - 25-6-2012 at 02:04

Quote: Originally posted by C.R.Menon  
I am a bacteriologist and doing experiments with a compound dodecylamine (lauryl amine). I am unable to get the compound in India.

Are you sure? A quick search on the commercial availability of this compound shows that practically all of the major chemical vendors stock it for a relatively low price (1 kg would cost you no more than 50 EUR). I don't want to make undue advertisement, so do try yourself with a metasearch engine like www.chemexper.com or www.emolecules.com . I know for sure that at least some of these vendors, if not all of them, sell to India. Perhaps you just misspelled the compound name while searching for commercial sources?

C.R.Menon - 25-6-2012 at 06:55

Quote: Originally posted by Zan Divine  
That depends on what dodecyl compounds are available to you. Aliphatic amines are classically made from halides, and halides from alcohols.

If you can access the alcohol, you can change it into the bromide with HBr which is made in situ from bromide ion + sulfuric or phosphoric acids.

The bromide can be reacted with potassium phthalimide and the resultant compound hydrolyzed by acid or base to give the amine.

If you can buy dodecyl bromide it will be to your advantage to do so.

No insult intended but if you can't find a literature method for this simple compound, I have to wonder how you could expect to actually make it. Especially kilos, that is a fairly big job.



[Edited on 25-6-2012 by Zan Divine]


Hi Zan Divine

Thanks for your reply. I may have to take the help of a chemist to figure it out how this can be done. I tried the web to get info on dodecylamine preparation, but could'nt get one for this simple compound.

regards.

C.R.Menon

blogfast25 - 25-6-2012 at 08:35

Try:

http://www.alphachemika-scientific.com/contact-us.htm

Huge inventory.

C.R.Menon - 28-6-2012 at 13:40

Hi Zan Divine,

Yes I tried again and again the net. In India it is available for only for very large quantity. Dodecylamine is not manufactured here, its imported from china. I contacted Sigma Aldrich. They couldn't supply as they did not have ready stock. I am still trying.

C.R.Menon

Zan Divine - 3-7-2012 at 07:17

Are you aware of the chemical purchasing guide "Chem Sources" (www.chemsources.com)?

For a given chemical, it lists all the suppliers.

smaerd - 3-7-2012 at 07:48

Quote: Originally posted by Zan Divine  


If you can access the alcohol, you can change it into the bromide with HBr which is made in situ from bromide ion + sulfuric or phosphoric acids.

[Edited on 25-6-2012 by Zan Divine]


It is to my understanding that yields of alkyl bromides significantly drop as the alkyl chain increases due to poor solubility.

Org syn mentions a slightly different more laborious procedure:
http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/orgsyn/prepContent.asp?prep=cv2...

I'd imagine forming a tosylate would be significantly easier.

C.R. Menon you could of course always ask for a kg 'sample' from the supplier.

[Edited on 3-7-2012 by smaerd]

Lambda-Eyde - 3-7-2012 at 09:07

Quote: Originally posted by blogfast25  
Try:

http://www.alphachemika-scientific.com/contact-us.htm

Huge inventory.

Holy flying dicks on a stick! :o Their prices are absolutely ludicrous! Does anyone have experience with them? I'd like to spend some money with those guys...

1L carbon tetrachloride for 6,5$?!

Edit: 500 mL PCl<sub>3</sub> for 4,75$??????

Edit2: 500 mL thionyl chloride for 5$? They also have thiomersal at ridiculous prices, I'm not so sure about these guys anymore...

[Edited on 3-7-2012 by Lambda-Eyde]