Emde degradation
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Emde degradation | |
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Named after | Hermann Emde |
Reaction type | Degradation reaction |
Identifiers | |
RSC ontology ID | RXNO:0000147 |
The Emde degradation (also called Emde-reaction or Emde-reduction ) is a method for the reduction of a quaternary ammonium cation to a tertiary amine with sodium amalgam : [1] [2] [3]
![Emde-degradation](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Emderxn.png/500px-Emderxn.png)
This organic reaction was first described in 1909 by the German chemist Hermann Emde and was for a long time of great importance in structure elucidation of many alkaloids , for example that of ephedrine .
Alternative reducing agents exist for this reaction; for instance, lithium aluminium hydride .
See also
- Related reactions are the Hofmann elimination and the von Braun reaction
References
- ↑ Emde, Hermann (1909). "Spaltung quartärer Ammoniumsalze durch nascierenden Wasserstoff" . Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 42 (2): 2590–2594. doi : 10.1002/cber.190904202169 .
- ↑ Pötsch, W. (1989). Lexikon bedeutender Chemiker . VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig. ISBN 3817110553 .
- ↑ Smith, M. B.; March, J. (2001). March's Advanced Organic Chemistry . Wiley. ISBN 0-471-58589-0 .