diazomethane
/dʌɪˌazəʊˈmiːθeɪn
/ /dʌɪˌeɪzəʊˈmiːθeɪn/noun [mass noun] Chemistry
A poisonous, reactive yellow gas used as a methylating agent in chemical synthesis.
- Chemical formula: CH2N2.
- The sap samples were thawed and an internal standard of [H 6] ABA was added before they were dried, methylated with ethereal diazomethane, dried and redissolved in methanol for analysis by gc/ms.
- Lipids were extracted according to the method of Bligh and Dyer, followed by methylation with ethereal diazomethane.
Origin
Late 19th century: from diazo- (indicating the presence of two nitrogen atoms) + methane.