Eschenmoser's salt
Eschenmoser's salt, dimethylammonium iodide, is a strong dimethylaminomethylating agent, used to prepare derivatives of the type RCH2N2. Enolates, enolsilylethers, and even more acidic ketones undergo efficient dimethylaminomethylation. Once prepared, such tertiary amines can be further methylated and then subjected to base-induced elimination to afford methylidenated ketones. The salt was first prepared by the group of Albert Eschenmoser after whom the reagent is named.
Analogous salts, dimethylammonium chloride and trifluoroacetate, have similar properities and applications.
