Dimethoxyethane, also known as glyme, monoglyme, dimethyl glycol, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, dimethyl cellosolve, and DME, is a colorless,

aprotic A polar aprotic solvent is a solvent that lacks an acidic proton and is polar. Such solvents lack hydroxyl and amine groups. In contrast to protic solvents, these solvents do not serve as proton donors in hydrogen bonding In chemistry, a hydro ...

, and liquid

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...

that is used as a

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

, especially in batteries. Dimethoxyethane is

miscible Miscibility () is the property of two substances to mix in all proportions (that is, to fully dissolve in each other at any concentration), forming a homogeneous mixture (a solution). The term is most often applied to liquids but also applies ...

with

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

Production

Monoglyme is produced industrially by the reaction of

dimethylether Dimethyl ether (DME; also known as methoxymethane) is the organic compound with the formula CH3OCH3, (sometimes ambiguously simplified to C2H6O as it is an isomer of ethanol). The simplest ether, it is a colorless gas that is a useful precursor ...

with

ethylene oxide Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is a cyclic ether and the simplest epoxide: a three-membered Ring (chemistry), ring consisting of one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. Ethylene oxide is a colorless a ...

: :CH₃OCH₃ + CH₂CH₂O → CH₃OCH₂CH₂OCH₃

Applications as solvent and ligand

left, 144px, Structure of the coordination complex NbCl₃(dimethoxyethane)(3-hexyne).{{cite journal , doi=10.1021/ja8100837, title=New Tantalum Ligand-Free Catalyst System for Highly Selective Trimerization of Ethylene Affording 1-Hexene: New Evidence of a Metallacycle Mechanism, year=2009, last1=Arteaga-Müller, first1=Rocío, last2=Tsurugi, first2=Hayato, last3=Saito, first3=Teruhiko, last4=Yanagawa, first4=Masao, last5=Oda, first5=Seiji, last6=Mashima, first6=Kazushi, journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society, volume=131, issue=15, pages=5370–5371, pmid=20560633 Together with a high-permittivity solvent (e.g. propylene carbonate), dimethoxyethane is used as the low-viscosity component of the solvent for electrolytes of lithium battery, lithium batteries. In the laboratory, DME is used as a coordinating solvent. Dimethoxyethane is often used as a higher boiling alternative to

diethyl ether Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liq ...

and

tetrahydrofuran Tetrahydrofuran (THF), or oxolane, is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)4O. The compound is classified as heterocyclic compound, specifically a cyclic ether. It is a colorless, water-miscible organic liquid with low viscosity. It is ma ...

. Dimethoxyethane acts as a bidentate

ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule (functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electr ...

for some metal cations. It is therefore often used in

organometallic chemistry Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and so ...

Grignard reaction The Grignard reaction () is an organometallic chemical reaction in which alkyl, allyl, vinyl, or aryl-magnesium halides ( Grignard reagent) is added to a carbonyl group in an aldehyde or ketone. This reaction is important for the formation of ...

s and hydride reductions are typical application. It is also suitable for palladium-catalyzed reactions including

Suzuki reaction The Suzuki reaction is an organic reaction, classified as a cross-coupling reaction, where the coupling partners are a boronic acid and an organohalide and the catalyst is a palladium(0) complex. It was first published in 1979 by Akira Suzuki, ...

s and

Stille coupling The Stille reaction is a chemical reaction widely used in organic synthesis. The reaction involves the coupling of two organic groups, one of which is carried as an organotin compound (also known as organostannanes). A variety of organic electroph ...

s. Dimethoxyethane is also a good solvent for oligo- and

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wa ...

References

External links

Clariant Glymes Homepage www.glymes.com

1,2-Dimethoxyethane - chemical product info: properties, production, applications.

Glycol ethers Ether solvents Ligands