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?Metacelsus - 8-9-2017 at 20:17
What do you mean by "smells fluorescent"?Loptr - 9-9-2017 at 09:04
Maybe floralescent?alking - 9-9-2017 at 09:54
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. clearly_not_atara - 9-9-2017 at 11:11
Acetaldehyde?alking - 9-9-2017 at 15:13
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. Melgar - 10-9-2017 at 20:07
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.alking - 11-9-2017 at 05:13
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.Melgar - 13-9-2017 at 03:02
