Emde degradation
Chemical reaction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Emde degradation (also called Emde-reaction or Emde-reduction) is a method for the reduction of a quaternary ammonium cation to a tertiary amine with sodium amalgam:[1][2][3]
| Emde degradation | |
|---|---|
| Named after | Hermann Emde |
| Reaction type | Degradation reaction |
| Identifiers | |
| RSC ontology ID | RXNO:0000147 |
This organic reaction was first described in 1909 by the German chemist Hermann Emde. It was for a long time of great importance in structure elucidation of many alkaloids, for example that of ephedrine.
Alternative reducing agents exist for this reaction; for instance, lithium aluminium hydride.
See also
- Related reactions are the Hofmann elimination and the von Braun reaction