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Chemistry LibreTexts

Quaternary Ammonium Salt

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A quaternary ammonium salt is an ionic compound that has the following general structural formula.

quaternaryammoniumsalt1.png

n = positive whole number
R1, R2, R3, and R4 could be hydrogen atoms, alkyl groups, aryl groups, or any combination thereof. A could be any anion present in salt.

eg:

quaternaryammoniumsalt2.png

The word “salt” in quaternary ammonium salt is a misnomer because a quaternary ammonium salt can not be prepared by an acid-base reaction.

see also quaternary ammonium ion, primary ammonium salt, secondary ammonium salt, tertiary ammonium salt


This page titled Quaternary Ammonium Salt is shared under a All Rights Reserved (used with permission) license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gamini Gunawardena via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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