alking
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What did I make from bromoethane that smells fruity/flourescent?
I've been trying to make some nn-diisopropyl-n-ethylamine. I made some bromoethane and reacted it with isopropylamine to make
n-ethyl-n-isopropylamine. This was stripped of solvent and unreacted EtBr, basified, vacuum distilled, then fractionated to collect the product. The
fraction was collected in a wider range than the target product, maybe 3C before and ~20C after.
This sat in a flask for about a week and I noted some salt forming on the bottom, presumably whatever EtBr remained further alkylating the amine. I go
to use it today to make the final product and so I basify and vacuum distill it. After doing so I noticed a very distinctly sweet, soap/perfume like
smell. I have made ethylsulfate before and that is the closest thing I can think of, in fact it smelled near identical. Any idea what this may be?
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Metacelsus
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What do you mean by "smells fluorescent"?
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Loptr
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Maybe floralescent?
"Question everything generally thought to be obvious." - Dieter Rams
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alking
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Floralescent, yes! I knew flourescent meant to glow/emit light, but I didn't know what word conveyed what I was trying to say, I'm glad you guys
figured it out. It smells like flowers/laundry detergent or something fragrant.
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clearly_not_atara
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Acetaldehyde?
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alking
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You're probably right, that seems pretty likely. I guess it reacted with whatever oxygen was in the head space of the bottle and that would be why it
was so noticeable as well.
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Melgar
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Fruity smells tend to be associated with esters, and esters tend to form easily in organic mixtures. If it's not ethyl acetate, it could be isopropyl
acetate.
The first step in the process of learning something is admitting that you don't know it already.
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alking
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I don't know what isopropyl acetate smells like, but it definitely doesn't smell like ethyl acetate, there's no vinegary smell at all.
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Melgar
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Quote: Originally posted by alking  | | I don't know what isopropyl acetate smells like, but it definitely doesn't smell like ethyl acetate, there's no vinegary smell at all.
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Ethyl acetate doesn't smell like vinegar either. It smells like nail polish. Any vinegar smell would be an acetic acid impurity.
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