The ionization equation for dimethylethanolamine (DMAE) is as follows:
DMAE + H2O (CH3)2NCH2CH2OH + H3O+
In this equation, DMAE is the parent molecule and (CH3)2NCH2CH2OH is the conjugate acid. The equilibrium constant for this reaction is Kb, which is equal to the concentration of the conjugate acid divided by the concentration of the parent molecule. DMAE has a Kb value of 1.3 x 10^-10.
This means that at equilibrium there will be much more DMAE than (CH3)2NCH2CH2OH. Therefore, ionization of DMAE is a weak reaction.
