Question

What does tertiary butyl alcohol and na with liq nh3 do as a chemical reagent?

Answer 1

When heated to 150–220 °C over a silica- or alumina-supported nickel catalyst, ethanol and ammonia react to produce ethylamine. Further reaction leads to diethylamine and triethylamine:

CH3CH2OH + NH3 → CH3CH2NH2+ H2O. ethylamine

CH3CH2OH + CH3CH2NH2 → (CH3CH2)2NH + H2O. diethylamine

CH3CH2OH + (CH3CH2)2NH → (CH3CH2)3N + H2O. triethylamine

In example reaction (ammonia + ethanol), the product of the reaction has a better leaving group (NH3NH3, conjugate base of NH+4NH4+, which has a pKapKa of +9.75+9.75) than the OH−OH− leaving group in the reactant, so the reaction will also run in reverse, and the equilibrium will strongly favor the reactants.

CH3CH2OH+NH3↽−−⇀CH3CH2NH+3+OH− Ka<<1