ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

N-alkylation of ethylenediamine with alcohols catalyzed by CuO-NiO/γ-Al₂O₃

Jia-Min Huang, Lu-Feng Xu, Chao Qian, and Xin-Zhi Chen

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027 Hangzhou, China

E-mail: xzchen@zju.edu.cn

Abstract: A simple method for N-alkylation of 1,2-diaminoethane with different alcohols in a fixed-bed reactor using cheap CuO-NiO/γ-Al₂O₃ as the catalyst has been developed. The present catalytic system was applicable in the N-alkylation of 1,2-diaminoethane with both primary and secondary alcohols. Mono-N-alkylation of 1,2-diaminoethane with low-carbon alcohols resulted in high yields; the yields of tetra-N-alkylation of 1,2-diaminoethane with low-carbon alcohols declined markedly with the increase of the molecular volume of alcohols.

Keywords: N-alkylation – ethylenediamine – alcohols – catalyst

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-012-0140-8

Chemical Papers 66 (4) 304–307 (2012)