The Recycling of Substandard Rocket Fuel N,N-Dimethylhydrazine via the Involvement of Its Hydrazones Derived from Glyoxal, Acrolein, Metacrolein, Crotonaldehyde, and Formaldehyde in Organic Synthesis

"Heptil" (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine-UDMH) is extensively employed worldwide as a propellant for rocket engines. However, UDMH constantly loses its properties as a result of its continuous and uncontrolled absorption of moisture, which cannot be rectified. This situation threatens its long-term usability. UDMH is an exceedingly toxic compound (Hazard Class 1), which complicates its transportation and disposal. Incineration is currently the only method used for its disposal, but this process generates oxidation by-products that are even more toxic than the original UDMH. A more benign approach involves its immediate reaction with a formalin solution to form 1,1-dimethyl-2-methylene hydrazone (MDH), which is significantly less toxic by an order of magnitude. MDH can then be polymerized under acidic conditions, and the resulting product can be burned, yielding substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides. This review seeks to shift the focus of MDH from incineration towards its application in the synthesis of relatively non-toxic and readily available analogs of various pharmaceutical substances. We aim to bring the attention of the international chemical community to the distinctive properties of MDH, as well as other hydrazones (such as glyoxal, acrolein, crotonal, and meta-crolyl), wherein each structural fragment can initiate unique transformations that have potential applications in molecular design, pharmaceutical research, and medicinal chemistry.

Ethene-1,1,2,2-tetracarbonitrile and Methanol in the Methylating Reaction of Tertiary Amines to the Quaternary Ammonium Compounds of 1,1-Dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethane-1-ide

We discovered a new method to methylate tertiary amines such as urotropine, triethylamine, pyridine, 2-methylpyridine, 4-acetylpyridine, and isonicotinamide, up to quaternary ammonium compounds, with 1,1-dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethane-1-ide being the counterion. Methyl-1,3,5,7-tetraazaadamantan-1-ium 1,1-dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethane-1-ide, N,N-diethyl-N-methylethanaminium 1,1-dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethane-1-ide, and substituted-methylpyridinium 1,1-dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethane-1-ides were synthesized. Quaternary ammonium compounds of 1,1-dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxothane-1-ide were synthesized within a single stage by stirring methanol solutions of tertiary amines with ethene-1,1,2,2-tetracarbonitrile (ETCN) at room temperature. In the reaction of ETCN with tertiary amines in methanol, processes occur that form the 1,1-dicyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethane-1-ide fragment with simultaneous N-methylation. Crystal structures based on X-ray diffraction analysis of the obtained compounds were studied.