Dimethyl Sulfate

Other Names:

Sulfuric acid dimethyl ester

General Information:

Structure:

CAS Number: 77-78-1

Molecular Weight: 126.13 g/mol

Appearance: Colorless, oily liquid

Melting Point: -32 C

Boiling Point: 188 C

Density: 1.33 g/mL

Common Uses:

Alkylating agent for converting carboxylic acids to methyl esters

Procedure excerpt:

A solution of the SM (1.0 g, 6.2 mmol), K2CO3 (0.939 g, 6.8 mmol), and DMF (10 mL) was heated to 65 C and treated dropwise with Me2SO4 (0.78 g, 6.2 mmol) over 15 min . . .

[full procedure]

Safety:

Dimethyl sulfate is a very toxic alkylating agent.

References:

1) Patent Reference: WO2012129338, page 67, (12.0 MB)

2) Pearson, A. J.; Roush, W. R.; Handbook of Reagents for Organic Synthesis; Activating Agents and Protecting Groups

3) Wikipedia: Dimethyl sulfate (link)

4) www.sigmaaldrich.com: Dimethyl sulfate (link)