Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (USA), Fax: (+1)?510‐642‐4778
Abstract:
Sailing the seven ‘C's : 2,2,3‐Trimethylbutane (triptane) selectively forms from dimethyl ether at low temperatures on acid zeolites. Selective methylation at less‐substituted carbons, relative rates of methylation to hydrogen transfer as a function of chain size, slow skeletal isomerization, and β‐scission cracking of triptyl chains and their precursors are intrinsic properties of carbenium ions and account for the remarkable triptane selectivities within C7 .
