| Chemical Properties |
colourless to yellow liquid |
| Hazard |
Strong irritant to skin and tissue. |
| Safety Profile |
Poison by subcutaneous route. A powerful caustic. A corrosive irritant to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of NOx and NH3. |
| Purification Methods |
It is freed from chloride ions by passage through an ion-exchange column (e.g. Amberlite IRA-400, prepared in its OH-form by passing 2M NaOH until the effluent is free from chloride ions, then washed with distilled H2O until neutral). A modification, to obtain carbonate-free hydroxide, uses the method of Davies and Nancollas [Nature 165 237 1950]. [Beilstein 4 IV 145.] |
| Description |
Tetramethylammonium hydroxide is a solid in the hydrated form or a colorless liquid with a strong ammonia-like odor. It is soluble in water, and corrosive to metals and tissue. |
| Uses |
| Industry |
Application |
Role/benefit |
| Organic silicon |
Production of dimethyl silicone oil, organic silicon resin, silicon rubber, etc. |
Catalyst/removed easily; no pollution to the products |
| Chemical analysis |
Polarography experiment |
Polarographic reagent |
| Thermochemolysis to study fungal degradation of wood |
Analytical reagent |
| Chemical purification |
Removal of metal elements |
Ash free alkali/source of base; make the metal elements precipitated |
| Electron |
Production of computer silicon chip |
Brightening agent; anisotropic etching agent; cleaning agent; photoresist developer |
| Printing of circuit board |
Cleaning agent |
| Semiconductor manufacturing |
Chemical stripper |
| Others |
Synthesis of ferrofluid |
Surfactant/ inhibit nanoparticle aggregation |
| Synthesis of zeolite |
Structure directing agent |
|
| Health Hazard |
TOXIC; inhalation, ingestion or skin contact with material may cause severe injury or death. Contact with molten substance may cause severe burns to skin and eyes. Avoid any skin contact. Effects of contact or inhalation may be delayed. Fire may produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases. Runoff from fire control or dilution water may be corrosive and/or toxic and cause pollution. |
| Fire Hazard |
Combustible material: may burn but does not ignite readily. When heated, vapors may form explosive mixtures with air: indoors, outdoors and sewers explosion hazards. Contact with metals may evolve flammable hydrogen gas. Containers may explode when heated. Runoff may pollute waterways. Substance may be transported in a molten form. |
| Reactivity Profile |
Tetramethylammonium hydroxide acts like a base. Bases are chemically similar to sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or sodium oxide (Na2O). They neutralize acids exothermically to form salts plus water. When soluble in water they give solutions having a pH greater than 7.0. Mixing these materials with water can generate troublesome amounts of heat as the base is dissolved or diluted. Bases react with certain metals (such as aluminum and zinc) to form oxides or hydroxides of the metal and generate gaseous hydrogen. Bases may initiate polymerization reactions in polymerizable organic compounds, especially epoxides). They may generate flammable and/or toxic gases with ammonium salts, nitrides, halogenated organics, various metals, peroxides, and hydroperoxides. Materials of this group often serve as catalysts. |
| References |
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetramethylammonium_hydroxide#Uses
2.http://sacheminc.com/other-chemicals/tetramethylammonium-hydroxide-tmah/
3.https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/15506
4.https://www.concordia.ca/content/dam/concordia/services/safety/docs/EHS-DOC-020_TMAHGuidelines.pdf
5.https://www.chemicalbook.com/ChemicalProductProperty_EN_CB2854236.htm |
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