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Tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA or TEMED) is a
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
with the formula (CH3)2NCH2CH2N(CH3)2. This species is derived from ethylenediamine
Ethylenediamine (abbreviated as en when a ligand) is the organic compound with the formula C2H4(NH2)2. This colorless liquid with an ammonia-like odor is a basic amine. It is a widely used building block in chemical synthesis, with approximately ...
by replacement of the four amine
In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
s with four methyl
In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as ...
groups. It is a colorless liquid, although old samples often appear yellow. Its odor is similar to that of rotting fish.
As a reagent in synthesis
TMEDA is widely employed as aligand
In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's el ...
for metal ions. It forms stable complexes with many metal halides, e.g. zinc chloride
Zinc chloride is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula ZnCl2·''n''H2O, with ''n'' ranging from 0 to 4.5, forming water of hydration, hydrates. Zinc chloride, anhydrous and its hydrates, are colo ...
and copper(I) iodide
Copper(I) iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is also known as cuprous iodide. It is useful in a variety of applications ranging from organic synthesis to cloud seeding.
Copper(I) iodide is white, but samples often appe ...
, giving complexes that are soluble in organic solvents. In such complexes, TMEDA serves as a bidentate ligand.
TMEDA has an affinity for lithium
Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...
ions. When mixed with ''n''-butyllithium, TMEDA's nitrogen atoms coordinate to the lithium, forming a cluster of higher reactivity than the tetramer or hexamer that ''n''-butyllithium normally adopts. BuLi/TMEDA is able to metallate or even doubly metallate many substrates including benzene
Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...
, furan
Furan is a Heterocyclic compound, heterocyclic organic compound, consisting of a five-membered aromatic Ring (chemistry), ring with four carbon Atom, atoms and one oxygen atom. Chemical compounds containing such rings are also referred to as f ...
, thiophene
Thiophene is a heterocyclic compound with the formula C4H4S. Consisting of a planar five-membered ring, it is aromatic as indicated by its extensive substitution reactions. It is a colorless liquid with a benzene-like odor. In most of its reacti ...
, ''N''-alkylpyrrole
Pyrrole is a heterocyclic, aromatic, organic compound, a five-membered ring with the formula . It is a colorless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air. Substituted derivatives are also called pyrroles, e.g., ''N''-methylpyrrol ...
s, and ferrocene
Ferrocene is an organometallic chemistry, organometallic compound with the formula . The molecule is a Cyclopentadienyl complex, complex consisting of two Cyclopentadienyl anion, cyclopentadienyl rings sandwiching a central iron atom. It is an o ...
. Many anionic organometallic complexes have been isolated as their i(tmeda)2sup>+ complexes. In such complexes i(tmeda)2sup>+ behaves like a quaternary ammonium salt
In organic chemistry, quaternary ammonium cations, also known as quats, are positively-charged polyatomic ions of the structure , where R is an alkyl group, an aryl group or organyl group. Unlike the ammonium ion () and the primary, secondary, ...
, such as Et4sup>+.
:
sec-Butyllithium
''sec''-Butyllithium is an organometallic compound with the Chemical formula, formula CH3CHLiCH2CH3, abbreviated ''sec''-BuLi or ''s''-BuLi. This Chiral (chemistry), chiral organolithium reagent is used as a source of ''sec''-butyl carbanion in o ...
/TMEDA is a useful combination in organic synthesis where the ''n''-butyl analogue adds to substrate. TMEDA is still capable of forming a metal complex with Li in this case as mentioned above.
In molecular biology
TEMED is a common reagent in molecular biology laboratories, as a polymerizing agent forpolyacrylamide
Polyacrylamide (abbreviated as PAM or pAAM) is a polymer with the formula (-CH2CHCONH2-). It has a linear-chain structure. PAM is highly water-absorbent, forming a soft gel when hydrated. In 2008, an estimated 750,000,000 kg were produced, ...
gels in the protein analysis technique SDS-PAGE
SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) is a Discontinuous electrophoresis, discontinuous electrophoretic system developed by Ulrich K. Laemmli which is commonly used as a method to separate proteins with molecular m ...
.
Other uses
The complexes (TMEDA)Ni(CH3)2 and TMEDA)Ni(''o''-tolyl)Clillustrate the use of tmeda to stabilize homogeneous catalysts.Related compounds
*, also referred to as tetramethylethylenediamine. *Bis(dimethylamino)methane
Bis(dimethylamino)methane is the organic compound with the formula CH3)2Nsub>2CH2. It is classified as an aminal as well as a ditertiary amine, in fact the simplest. It is a colorless liquid that is widely available. It is prepared by the reac ...
,
References
{{reflist Dimethylamino compounds Chelating agents Foul-smelling chemicals