Making a tertiary amine

Making a tertiary amine

And still it doesn't stop! The diethylamine also reacts with bromoethane - in the same two stages as before.

In the first stage, you get triethylammonium bromide.

There is again the possibility of a reversible reaction between this salt and excess ammonia in the mixture.

The ammonia removes a hydrogen ion from the triethylammonium ion to leave a tertiary amine - triethylamine. A tertiary amine is one which has three alkyl groups attached to the nitrogen.

Making a quaternary ammonium salt

The final stage! The triethylamine reacts with bromoethane to give tetraethylammonium bromide - a quaternary ammonium salt (one in which all four hydrogens have been replaced by alkyl groups).