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Preparation

DMAP can be prepared in a two-step procedure from pyridine, which is first oxidized to 4-pyridylpyridinium cation. This cation then reacts with dimethylamine:⁴

Esterification catalyst

Main article: Steglich esterification

In the case of esterification with acetic anhydrides the currently accepted mechanism involves three steps. First, DMAP and acetic anhydride react in a pre-equilibrium reaction to form an ion pair of acetate and the acetylpyridinium ion. In the second step the alcohol adds to the acetylpyridinium, and elimination of pyridine forms an ester. Here the acetate acts as a base to remove the proton from the alcohol as it nucleophilically adds to the activated acylpyridinium. The bond from the acetyl group to the catalyst gets cleaved to generate the catalyst and the ester. The described bond formation and breaking process runs synchronous concerted without the appearance of a tetrahedral intermediate. The acetic acid formed will then protonate the DMAP. In the last step of the catalytic cycle the auxiliary base (usually triethylamine or pyridine) deprotonates the protonated DMAP, reforming the catalyst. The reaction runs through the described nucleophilic reaction pathway irrespective of the anhydride used, but the mechanism changes with the pKa value of the alcohol used. For example, the reaction runs through a base-catalyzed reaction pathway in the case of a phenol. In this case, DMAP acts as a base and deprotonates the phenol, and the resulting phenolate ion adds to the anhydride.⁵

Safety

DMAP has a relatively high toxicity and is particularly dangerous because of its ability to be absorbed through the skin. It is also corrosive.⁶

Related compound

• 4-Pyrrolidinylpyridine

Further reading

• B. Neises; W. Steglich (1990). "Esterification of Carboxylic Acids with Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/4-Dimethylaminopyridine: tert-Butyl Ethyl Fumarate". Organic Syntheses; Collected Volumes, vol. 7, p. 93.
• I. Held; P. von den Hoff; D. S. Stephenson; H. Zipse (2008). "Domino Catalysis in the Direct Conversion of Carboxylic Acids to Esters". Adv. Synth. Catal. 11/12 (11–12): 1891–1900. doi:10.1002/adsc.200800268.

References

1. Donald J Berry; Charles V Digiovanna; Stephanie S Metrick; Ramiah Murugan (2001). "Catalysis by 4-dialkylaminopyridines". Arkivoc: 201–226. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014254/http://www.arkat-usa.org/home.aspx?VIEW=MANUSCRIPT&MSID=401 ↩

2. Höfle, G.; Steglich, W.; Vorbrüggen, H. (1978). "4-Dialkylaminopyridines as Highly Active Acylation Catalysts". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 17 (8): 569–583. doi:10.1002/anie.197805691. /wiki/Angew._Chem._Int._Ed._Engl. ↩

3. Ryan P. Wurz (2007). "Chiral Dialkylamine Catalysts in Asymmetric Synthesis". Chem. Rev. 107 (12): 5570–5595. doi:10.1021/cr068370e. PMID 18072804. /wiki/Chem._Rev. ↩

4. Shimizu, Shinkichi; Watanabe, Nanao; Kataoka, Toshiaki; Shoji, Takayuki; Abe, Nobuyuki; Morishita, Sinji; Ichimura, Hisao (2007). "Pyridine and Pyridine Derivatives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a22_399. ISBN 978-3-527-30673-2. 978-3-527-30673-2 ↩

5. S. Xu; I. Held; B. Kempf; H. Mayr; Wolfgang Steglich; H. Zipse (2005). "The DMAP-Catalyzed Acetylation of Alcohols - A Mechanistic Study (DMAP = 4-(dimethylamino)-pyridine)". Chem. Eur. J. 11 (16): 4751–4757. doi:10.1002/chem.200500398. PMID 15924289. /wiki/Wolfgang_Steglich ↩

6. DMAP MSDS - Fischer Science http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/60863.htm ↩