Electrochemical synthesis of trimethylamine by cathodic reduction of dimethylformamide using Cu and Pd cathodes

•We have developed electrochemical synthesis of TMA for the first time.•Electroreduction of DMF at Cu and Pd show good electrocatalytic activity.•Cu and Pd afford high yield and conversion for the process.•We can obtain easily high-purity trimethylamine gas.

The preparation of amines from amides is one of the most important reactions in medicinal and industrial chemistry, but the electrochemical hydrogenation of dimethylformamide to trimethylamine is a completely unexplored field. In this work, we developed a convenient and efficient method for the electrosynthesis of trimethylamine through the selective electrochemical hydrogenation of dimethylformamide. Gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry was used to analyze the product. The electrochemical hydrogenation of dimethylformamide to trimethylamine was achieved at Cu and Pd cathodes, which showed good electrocatalytic activity and afforded high yield and 96% conversion. The products were collected in gas sampling bags and then introduced into saturated sodium hydroxide solution to obtain high-purity trimethylamine gas (>99%).