Quaternary Ammonium and Phosphonium Hydroxides are strong bases
Quaternary ammonium hydroxides are part of a list of strong bases that bring great simplicity to the area of base-induced reactions in organic chemistry. Their utility has been demonstrated in a wide variety of organic reactions, including:
- Aldol Condensations
- Claisen Condensations
- Sonogashira Couplings
- Suzuki Couplings
- Robinson Annulations
- Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitutions
- Alkylation of Malonates
SACHEM’s manufacturing technologies enable the production of small and large molecular weight quat hydroxides that are available in water and in organic solvents. These products offer excellent alternatives to traditional bases such as sodium and potassium hydroxide, alkoxides, amides, ammonium hydroxide, and amines and can enhance performance because of their unique properties.
SACHEM’s low molecular weight materials are:
- Soluble in most organic solvents
- Non-aqueous solutions which can be rendered nearly anhydrous
- Easily removed – their thermal decomposition leaves behind only volatile products that can easily be removed under vacuum
- Responsible for enhanced reactivity due to looser ion pairing than is possible with metal hydroxides, even with crown ethers (Large organic cation).
What are strong bases? In the context of strong bases chemistry, these are compounds like the quaternary ammonium hydroxides mentioned above, which provide greater reactivity of the hydroxide for:
- High pH
- An organically soluble base
- An enabling technology for difficult reactions
- Faster reaction times
- Flexible process design
- Aqueous and non-aqueous forms
According to Arrhenius, bases are compounds that releases hydroxide ions OH– in aqueous solution. Strong bases are those bases which can dissociates completely to give hydroxide ions in aqueous solution. A list of strong bases below:
- Lithium hydroxide- LiOH
- Sodium hydroxide- NaOH
- Potassium hydroxide- KOH
- Rubidium hydroxide- RbOH
- Cesium hydroxide- CsOH
- Calcium hydroxide- Ca(OH)2
- Strontium hydroxide- Sr(OH)2
Check out our Salego™ BASE product portfolio here.
