Triethanolamine 3D Molecular Model — CAS 102-71-6

Triethanolamine (C6H15NO3, CAS 102-71-6) — a free educational 3D molecular model for teachers and students, by MolGod.org. Symbols are engraved into every atom, so students read atoms by symbol, not by colour.

Colour keys break down in 3D printing, because an STL holds geometry alone and most classroom printers use one filament at a time. Our answer is to cut each element symbol into its sphere, so the printed object labels itself in any colour of filament. Our goal is to let students understand on their own how the atoms are arranged, how they are bonded and what the 3D geometry looks like, straight from the model in their hands. No CAD skills are needed on the teacher's side; the structure, geometry and labels come ready in one file. Curious about the science behind the engraving? The project page is at https://molgod.org/engraved-molecular-models/.

Lay Triethanolamine on the desk and search for a ring: there isn't one. Its 25 atoms hang together through 24 bonds (all of them single). Use the engraved letters like a register: call out each element and tick it off until the class reaches 6 C + 15 H + 1 N + 3 O (25 atoms altogether). Where on the model can students see the three hydroxyl groups (-OH) and the tertiary amino group (-NR2)? Let them search before you reveal the answer. Topics it supports in class: alcohols and hydrogen bonding, as well as amines and basicity. For compare-and-contrast work, Hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetic acid (CAS 150-39-0) and N-Oleyldiethanolamine (CAS 13127-82-7) are structurally close to it in this collection.

Teachers and students can use this MolGod.org model free of charge. Teachers: give each table a model and have students write the formula from the engraved atoms.

Download it, print it and use it in your teaching. If you share a photo, a lesson or an adapted version, the licence (CC BY-SA 4.0) asks for credit to "MolGod.org" as the model's author, a link to the original and to the licence text, a note of what you changed, and the same licence for adaptations; the attribution line below is ready to copy. No sign-up, no fees and no review required. Printed it? Used it in class? Please share a quick review in the comments and suggest how we can make our molecules even more useful for learning. You can also contact us at https://molgod.org/contact/. The comment section is open for discussion: how did you introduce this molecule, and what did your students notice first? Need a different molecule? Send us its CAS number and we will gladly prepare an engraved 3D model of it.

Full record and more free models: https://molgod.org/molecule/102-71-6/?utm_source=printables&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=edu-3d-models
Licence & provenance: https://molgod.org/licenses/stl/102-71-6/
Same file on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triethanolamine-3D-molecular-model-engraved-CAS-102-71-6.stl
Also published on: Zenodo (DOI, latest version) https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23586700 · Figshare (dataset DOI) https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.34778031

A ball-and-stick model of Triethanolamine with each element symbol recessed into its atom sphere, generated by MolGod.org from a PubChem-computed 3D conformer (not an experimental crystal structure); atomic coordinates and connectivity are unchanged. STL mesh: 275,312 triangles, closed (watertight) single solid. Coordinates in ångström (STL stores no unit) — scale the model deliberately in your slicer.

Names in other languages: Triethanolamin (de); triéthanolamine (fr); Trietanolammina (it); trietanoloamina (pl); 三乙醇胺 (zh).

Chemical identity

• CAS Registry Number: 102-71-6

• Molecular formula: C6H15NO3

• Molar mass: 149.19 g/mol (exact mass 149.10519334)

• IUPAC name: 2-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethanol

• MolGod ID: MG_667-384-258-74 (https://molgod.org/id/MG_667-384-258-74)

• PubChem CID: 7618 (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/7618)

• Wikidata: Q424314 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q424314)

• EC number: 203-049-8

• ChemSpider ID: 13835630

• InChIKey: GSEJCLTVZPLZKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N

• SMILES: C(CO)N(CCO)CCO

Required attribution (CC BY-SA 4.0): "Triethanolamine 3D model by MolGod.org — https://molgod.org/molecule/102-71-6/ — CC BY-SA 4.0"
Licence text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/