It is mainly used as a base, catalyst, solvent and raw material in organic synthesis. It is also used as a high-energy fuel, rubber vulcanization accelerator, tetrafluoroethylene inhibitor, surfactant, wetting agent, preservative and bactericide.
Triethylamine is the simplest homotrisubstituted tertiary amine that is liquid at room temperature. Therefore, it is widely used as a solvent and base in organic synthesis. It is generally abbreviated as Et3N, NEt3 or TEA. It is one of the most commonly used organic bases in organic synthesis, with a boiling point of about 89 degrees Celsius, and is relatively easy to remove by distillation. The solubility of its hydrochloride and hydrobromide in organic solvents such as ether is not very high, so it can sometimes be directly separated by filtration. The simpler trimethylamine is a colorless gas under normal conditions and must be stored in a gas tank under pressure or in the form of a 40% aqueous solution. It is not as easy to use as triethylamine.
Triethylamine can be used as an alkaline catalyst in the Swern oxidation reaction, elimination reactions such as dehydrohalogenation, Heck reaction, preparation of silyl enol ethers, preparation of esters and amides from acyl chlorides, and in the addition of protective groups to hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups. It can react with hydrochloric acid to obtain triethylamine hydrochloride, and react with alkylating agents to obtain the corresponding quaternary ammonium salts. Triethylamine and unsaturated acyl chlorides/anhydrides will produce water-soluble, biotoxic conjugated complexes, especially in the synthesis of biomaterials. This reaction will have a significant impact on subsequent cell experiments. It has recently been reported that this complex will produce a coloring effect on cross-linked polyesters obtained by condensation of unsaturated acyl chlorides/anhydrides with polymer terminal hydroxyl groups. Inorganic weak bases such as potassium carbonate are suggested to replace the catalytic role of triethylamine in such reactions. This method can also simplify the purification steps of the product.
