Oxygenate dimethyl ether

Other compounds containing lone pairs of electrons readily form co-ordinate links and in each case a change in spatial configuration accompanies the bond formation. The oxygen atom in dimethyl ether, CHj—O—CHj, has two lone pairs of electrons and is able to donate one pair to, for example, boron trichloride ... 

By selection of appropriate operating conditions, the proportion of coproduced methanol and dimethyl ether can be varied over a wide range. The process is attractive as a method to enhance production of Hquid fuel from CO-rich synthesis gas. Dimethyl ether potentially can be used as a starting material for oxygenated hydrocarbons such as methyl acetate and higher ethers suitable for use in reformulated gasoline. Also, dimethyl ether is an intermediate in the Mobil MTG process for production of gasoline from methanol. 

Tetrafluoroethylene Oxide TFEO has only been prepared by a process employing oxygen or ozone because of its extreme reactivity with ionic reagents. This reactivity may best be illustrated by its low temperature reaction with the weak nucleophile, dimethyl ether, to give either of two products (47) (eq. 10). 

Oxygenates and Chemicals A whole host of oxygenated products, i.e., fuels, fuel additives, and chemicals, can be produced from synthesis gas. These include such produc ts as methanol, ethylene, isobutanol, dimethyl ether, dimethyl carbonate, and many other hydrocarbons and oxyhydrocarbons. Typical oxygenate-producing reactions are ... 

Ethers — (R-O-R) are low on the scale of chemical reactivity. Aliphatic ethers are generally volatile, flammable liquids with low boiling points and low flashpoints. Well known hazardous ethers include diethyl ether, dimethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran. Beyond their flammability, ethers present an additional hazard they react with atmospheric oxygen in the presence of light to form organic peroxides. 

Active Figure 2.5 The reaction of boron trifluoride, a Lewis acid, with dimethyl ether, a Lewis base. The Lewis acid accepts a pair of electrons, and the Lewis base donates a pair of nonbonding electrons. Note how the movement of electrons from the Lewis base to the Lewis acid is indicated by a curved arrow. Note also how, in electrostatic potential maps, the boron becomes more negative (red) after reaction because it has gained electrons and the oxygen atom becomes more positive (blue) because it has donated electrons. Sign in atwww. thomsonedu.com to see a simulation based on this figure and to take a short quiz. 

Like alcohols, ethers have nearly the same geometry as water. The R-O-R bonds have an approximately tetrahedral bond angle (112° in dimethyl ether), and the oxygen atom is 5p3-hybridized. 

Quite often, molecules have the same chemical formula but differ in their structures. For example, two compounds have the chemical formula C2 Hg O (Figure 3-2b and c). Dimethyl ether has a C—O—C linkage, while ethanol contains C—O—H. To distinguish between these two different substances, chemists write the formula of dimethyl ether as CH3 OCH3 and the formula of ethanol as CH3 CH2 OH. The first formula indicates that the molecule has two CH3 units linked to an oxygen atom. The second formula tells us that there is a C2 H5 unit attached to an OH group. Molecules that have the same molecular formula but different arrangements of atoms are called isomers. 

In dimethyl ether, the oxygen atom is sp3 hybridized. In creating two single bonds, each bond is formed by the overlap of one of its sp3 hybrid orbitals with the sp3 hybrid orbital on the adjacent carbon atom. Each of the remaining two hybrid orbitals on the oxygen atom contain a lone pair of electrons. The resulting molecule is polar. The intermolecular forces found operating between molecules of dimethyl ether are therefore dipole-dipole interactions and London forces. 

Note that for acetic acid there is a hydrogen attached to an oxygen atom (a prerequisite for H bonding) but that for dimethyl ether there is no H atom connected to an F, O, or N atom. 

Finally, an additional approach to using hydrocarbon fuels with Ni-based anodes involves using methanol and ethanol, molecules that carry sufficient oxygen to avoid carbon formation.Unlike the case with low-temperature fuel cells, methanol crossover is not an issue with ceramic membranes. Since methanol decomposes very readily to CO and H2. SOFC can operate with a very high performance using this fuel. ° ° In addition, recent work has shown promising performance levels with limited carbon deposition using dimethyl ether as fuel. ° ° ... 

Another common solvent that contains the oxygen atom easily available for coordination with metal cations is THE. The ability of anion-radicals to remove a proton from the position 2 of THE is sometimes a problem. Dimethyl ether is more stable as a solvent its oxygen atom is also exposed and can coordinate with a metal cation with no steric hindrance from the framing alkyl groups. An added advantage of dimethyl ether is that, because of its low boiling point (-22°C), it can be readily removed after reductive metallation and replaced by the desired solvent. The use of aromatic anion-radicals in dimethyl ether (instead of THE) is well documented (Cohen et al. 2001, references therein). 

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