An Efficient Synthesis of N,N,N’,N’,N″-Pentamethyldipropylenetriamine

Abstract

N,N,N’,N’,N″-Pentamethyldipropylenetriamine (PMDPTA) has for a long time been employed as an efficient catalyst in the production of polyurethane materials. A green and effective synthetic route to PMDPTA was successfully established from experiments described in this paper. PMDPTA was obtained from methylamine, acrylonitrile and formaldehyde via a Michael addition, catalytic hydrogenation and methylation in 65% overall yield. Furthermore, methanol was employed as the only solvent in all of the three steps, resulting in the convenient recovery of methanol. This route is thus suitable for industrial production.