madscientist
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Reducing nitriles
Does anyone know if it's feasible to reduce a nitrile to an amine? For example: reducing acetonitrile to ethylamine. Would Al/Hg amalgam do the trick?
I weep at the sight of flaming acetic anhydride.
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the_stupidu
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methyl cyanide
CH3CN + NH3 = [CH3NH2] + HCN
or better
CH3CN + NH3*H2O = [CH3NH2]*H2O + HCN + (NOX ... CH3COOH)
???
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solo
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Re: reduction of nitriles
try the catalytic hydrogenation with nickle or the Gabriel synthesis to get primary amines only or the process with intermediate cyanide product when
treating the nitrile with NaCN but with hydrogenation with nickle you would get your primary amine, i.e. Benzyl chloride rx with NaCN get
phenylacetonitrile(benzyl cyanide) anfter rx with catalytic hydrogenation at 140 C , get beta-phenylethylamine.
REf. Morrison and Boyd,
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