froot - 9-11-2004 at 07:10
This is very commonly used as a insect repellant and has a rather nasty smell. I found a synth for it here:
http://ep.llnl.gov/msds/Malathion-Module/Deet.html
Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the synth of DEET, considering the nasty thoinyl chloride is required and if there are any
alternative routes.
Tacho - 9-11-2004 at 08:55
Are you interested in the chemistry of the synthesis or in actually obtaining an efficient insect repellant?
I know nothing about the chemistry of DEET, but I have been interested in this or this . Unfortunately, the catnip I planted did not grow in my backyard, so, no nepetalactone for me. Maybe you will be more lucky. Do a search:
+catnip +mosquito +repellant, a few hundred links will show you what I mean.
froot - 9-11-2004 at 12:44
I'm interested in the actual chemistry involved in the synthesis if DEET. I found a molecular diagram here;
http://www.intox.org/databank/documents/chemical/deet/pest80...
It seems unlikely but was hoping for another way to combine the diethylamine with the toluene without having to use thionyl chloride.
ps. thanks for those links, they are quite interesting
[Edited on 9-11-2004 by froot]
JohnWW - 9-11-2004 at 13:06
Is it any better than good old dimethyl phthalate (DIMP), which I am sure is much cheaper? It appears to have been entirely displaced by diethyl
toluamide even in a proprietary brand of rub- or spray-on mosquito repellant calling itself "DIMP".
[Edited on 9-11-2004 by JohnWW]
atombum - 9-11-2004 at 14:17
DEET is probably no more effective than DIMP. It was probably replaced by the safety police. Phthalates, despite their extraordinarily low toxicity,
have come under fire due to one or more of the following effects-terato/muta/carcinogenic.
The_Davster - 9-11-2004 at 15:29
Tacho: You catnip did not take? Strange. I have some( I use this word loosly) catnip in my backyard and if it was not trimmed back every year it
would gain nearly a square meter every year
.
Tacho - 9-11-2004 at 15:45
I guess it likes cold weather. I live close to the tropic line.
The_Davster - 9-11-2004 at 15:55
So frozen 'ol Canada is good for something
. If the catnip was not under a
foot of snow right now( and heavily trimmed back for the winter) I might have tried an extraction. Oh well, time to wait for May when the snow
melts
Tacho - 10-11-2004 at 07:16
Be prepared to deal with many kilograms of catnip. I read somewhere that it's a very low yielding extraction.
Catnip mosquito-repellant soap was one of my entrepreneur fantasies.
Froot, sorry to bring your thread so off-topic. Sometime ago, when I researched mosquito repellant, DEET was BY FAR #1. Worldwide. I doubt this has
changed even slightly.
[Edited on 10-11-2004 by Tacho]
Zephyr - 10-11-2013 at 23:04
Several months ago I performed a steam distillation of catnip but as previously stated by Tacho the yields are extremely low and I only obtained a few
ml of impure nepetalactone.
If for some reason you can't grow catnip it can be found OTC at most pet stores or relatively cheaply online.
http://www.mannaharvest.net/catnip-organic-1-lb-by-frontier....