Hofmann exhaustive methylation reaction

Hofmann exhaustive methylation reaction

[′häf·mən ig¦zȯs·tiv ‚meth·ə′lā·shən rē‚ak·shən]

(organic chemistry)

The thermal decomposition of quaternary ammonium hydroxide compounds to yield an olefin and water; an exception is tetramethylammonium hydroxide, which decomposes to give an alcohol.