Tetrabutylammonium tribromide, abbreviated to TBATB, is a pale orange solid with the formula (C₄H₉)₄r₃. It is a salt of the

lipophilic Lipophilicity (from Greek language, Greek λίπος "fat" and :wikt:φίλος, φίλος "friendly") is the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. Such compounds are c ...

tetrabutylammonium Tetrabutylammonium is a quaternary ammonium cation with the formula , also denoted (where Bu = butyl group). It is used in the research laboratory to prepare lipophilic salts of inorganic anions. Relative to tetraethylammonium derivatives, tetr ...

cation and the linear tribromide anion. The salt is sometimes used as a

reagent In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...

used in

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the gen ...

as a conveniently weighable, solid source of

bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

Preparation

The compound is prepared by treatment of solid tetra-''n''-butylammonium bromide with bromine vapor: : (C₄H₉)₄r + Br₂ → (C₄H₉)₄r₃ Instead of bromine, tetra-''n''-butylammonium bromide can also be reacted with

vanadium pentoxide Vanadium(V) oxide (''vanadia'') is the inorganic compound with the formula V2 O5. Commonly known as vanadium pentoxide, it is a dark yellow solid, although when freshly precipitated from aqueous solution, its colour is deep orange. Because of ...

and aqueous

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...

, or alternatively with

ceric ammonium nitrate Ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) is the inorganic compound with the formula . This orange-red, water-soluble cerium salt is a specialised oxidizing agent in organic synthesis and a standard oxidant in quantitative analysis. Preparation, properties, ...

References

Reagents for organic chemistry Tetrabutylammonium salts Polyhalides {{alkanederivative-stub

Preparation

See also

References