Solvent-Free N-Formylation: An Experimental Application of Basic Concepts and Techniques of Organic Chemistry

摘要

N-Formamides are important intermediates in the synthesis of many pharmacologically active compounds and are used as protecting groups for amines or as catalysts in different reactions. The current Nformylation experiment is designed as a part of an introductory organic chemistry course for undergraduate students. The experiment includes formylation of substituted aromatic amines using formic acid under solventfree conditions. Students are introduced to laboratory safety precautions, reaction mechanism, and basic laboratory techniques such as a solvent-free reaction setup, reflux, filtration, melting point determination, yield calculation, and lab report write-up. Students synthesized four different formamides in 50-80% yield as a straightforward application of nucleophilic substitution reactions.