Triisopropylamine is an organic chemical compound consisting of three isopropyl groups bound to a central nitrogen atom.
[1][2] As a hindered tertiary amine, it can be used as a non-nucleophilic base and as a stabilizer for polymers; however, its applications are limited by its relatively high cost and difficult synthesis.
[5] The C-C-C planes of the isopropyl groups are slightly tilted (about 5°) relative to the threefold symmetry axis of the C3N core.
Though arguably a more hindered molecule, the structurally analogous tri-tert-alkyl carbinol 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-t-butyl-pentane-3-ol (tri-tert-butylcarbinol, tBu3COH), has been known for decades (prepared by Bartlett and coworkers in 1945).
Steric effects make triisopropylamine difficult to synthesise and unlike less hindered tertiary amines (such as triethylamine) it cannot be produced by the alkylation of ammonia with alcohol; attempts to do so stall at diisopropylamine.