Tetrabutylammonium iodide

The Uses of Tetrabutylammonium iodide

Tetrabutylammonium iodide is used in the preparation of novel quaternary amines to serve as antibacterial agents in the rise of drug-resistant bacteria,it is also used in phosphonium reversible inhibitors of cholinesterases.

The Uses of Tetrabutylammonium iodide

To a solution of the indole (A) (6.0 g, 22.9 mmol) in dry DMF (60 mL) was added K2CO3 (9.52 g, 68.9 mmol) and the mixture was stirred under N2 at RT for 30 min. To this mixture was added the alkyl bromide (B) (5.5 g, 45.9 mmol) and the reaction was stirred at 80 C for 4 h. After completion, the reaction mixture was cooled to RT and diluted with EtOAc (50 mL). The mixture was washed with brine (50 mL), then cold H2O (50 mL). The org layer was dried (Na2SO4) and concentrated in vacuo. The resulting material was purified by silica gel column chromatography to provide the product as an off-white solid. [6.0 g, 87%]