Preparation of More-Biofriendly Quaternary Ammonium Compounds and Their Decomposition to Useful Reagents

本研究的重点是开发条件，使碳酸二甲酯成为工业上可行的烷基化剂，用于制备季铵盐。在该项目的第二部分，烷基化反应的产物将转化为一系列具有不同反离子的盐。第三，将构建几种可生物降解的季铵盐，作为目前在商业产品中使用的不太环保的盐的可能替代品。该项目将作为本科化学专业学生教育的平台。作为美国国家科学基金会/美国环保署合作伙伴关系的一部分，合成有机项目获得了可持续环境技术奖，为奥古斯塔纳学院化学系加里·厄尔博士的研究和教育活动提供了支持。厄尔教授将专注于开发新的可行的方法来生产季铵化合物。这些化合物在工业上被广泛用作各种产品的成分，从织物柔软剂到头发调理剂。本科化学专业将受到工业加工的限制，包括设备和反应条件，以及经济限制。

The focus of this research is developing conditions which will make dimethyl carbonate an industrially viable alkylating agent for the preparation of quaternary ammonium salts. In a second part of the project, the products of the alkylation reactions will be transformed into a series of salts with varying counter ions. Thirdly, several biodegradable quaternary salts will be constructed as possible alternatives to the environmentally less friendly salts now used in commercial products. The project will serve as platform for the education of undergraduate chemistry students. With this Technology for a Sustained Environment award, the Synthetic Organic Program, as part of the NSF/EPA Partnership, is supporting the research and educational activities of Dr. Gary W. Earl of the Department of Chemistry at Augustana College. Professor Earl will focus his work on developing new and viable methods for the production of quaternary ammonium compounds. These compounds find wide industrial use as components of products as diverse as fabric softeners to hair conditioning agents. Undergraduate chemistry majors will be exposed to the constraints of industrial processing, both equipment and reaction conditions, as well as economic limitations.