Abstract
Eighteen structurally varied amines were subjected to harsh oxidative conditions, and their stability was assessed and seen in the context of biological and thermal stability. Steric effects play a large role in the stabilization of amines under oxidative conditions, and the presence of carbon dioxide plays a vital role in the degradation pathway of ethanolamine (MEA). Tertiary amines are generally very stable, and are known not to form carbamates to any large extent. Many steric effects play a vital role in stabilization, such as chain length, substituents located both close to and farther from the nitrogen atom, and bond strain. A correlation is seen between biodegradability and oxidative degradability, giving similar degradability in both cases. There are, however, promising exceptions to this, such as 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamine (DMAPA) and 2-dimethylaminoethanol (DMMEA), which are stable under oxidative conditions, but also biodegradable. Direct correlations between oxidative stability and ecotoxicity or thermal stability are not seen.