It is similar in structure to quinuclidine, but the latter has one of the nitrogen atoms replaced by a carbon atom. Regarding their structures, both DABCO and quinuclidine are unusual in that the methylene hydrogen atoms are eclipsed within each of the three ethylene linkages. Furthermore, the diazacyclohexane rings, of which there are three, adopt the boat conformations, not the usual chair conformations.
Reactions
The pKa of [HDABCO]+ (the protonated derivative) is 8.8, which is almost the same as ordinary alkylamines. The nucleophilicity of the amine is high because the amine centers are unhindered. It is sufficiently basic to promote a variety of coupling reactions.
The reagent Selectfluor is derived by alkylation of DABCO with dichloromethane following by treatment with fluorine. A colourless salt that tolerates air, Selectfluor has been commercialized for use for electrophilic fluorination.[6]
It is produced by thermal reactions of compounds of the type H2NCH2CH2X (X = OH, NH2, or NHR) in the presence of zeolitic catalysts. An idealized conversion is shown for the conversion from ethanolamine:[12]
^Uppuluri V. Mallavadhani, Nicolas Fleury-Bregeot. "1,4-Diazabicyclo [2.2.2]octane". In Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:10.1002/047084289X.rd010m.pub2
^Baylis, A. B.; Hillman, M. E. D. German Patent 2155113, 1972.
^Banks, R. Eric; Murtagh, Vincent; An, Ilhwan; Maleczka, Robert E. (2007). "1-(Chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane Bis(tetrafluoroborate)". Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis. doi:10.1002/047084289X.rc116.pub2. ISBN978-0471936237.
^P. Dembech, A. Ricci, G. Seconi, and M. Taddei "Bis(trimethylsilyl) Peroxide" Org. Synth. 1997, volume 74, pp. 84. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.074.0084
^Ludovic Martial and Laurent Bischoff "Preparation of DABSO from Karl-Fischer Reagent" Org. Synth. 2013, volume 90, pp. 301. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.090.0301
^Ho, T. L. (1972). "Dealkylation of Quaternary Ammonium Salts with 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane". Synthesis. 1972 (12): 702. doi:10.1055/s-1972-21977.
^Karsten Eller, Erhard Henkes, Roland Rossbacher, Hartmut Höke "Amines, Aliphatic" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2005. doi:10.1002/14356007.a02_001
Cecchi, L.; DeSarlo, F.; Machetti, F. (2006). "1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) as an Efficient Reagent for the Synthesis of Isoxazole Derivatives from Primary Nitro Compounds and Dipolarophiles: The Role of the Base". European Journal of Organic Chemistry. 2006 (21): 4852–4860. doi:10.1002/ejoc.200600475..