The Vespiary
The Hive => Chemistry Discourse => Topic started by: Elementary on July 04, 2002, 04:25:00 AM
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Or maybe phenylacetonisonitrile ?
Does or can this chemical exist ?
Could it be made like this :
C6H5CH2NH2 + CHCl3 + 3KOH = C6H5CH2NC + 3KCl + 3H2O
John Lennon - Working Class Hero
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Yes, isonitriles exist. They are undesired byproducts in the synthesis from benzylchloride and alkali cyanide. You can destroy the isonitriles with concentrated sulphuric acid. See the "organic syntheses" for a detailed recipe. Isonitrile has a very unpleasant smell.
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I know that isonitriles rearrange themselves to nitriles if heated.
I was thinking of using this as a path to benzyl cyanide from benzylamine.
Toluene/Benzyl Alcohol > Benzyl Chloride > Benzylamine > Benzyl Isocyanide > Benzyl Cyanide > Phenylacetic Acid
John Lennon - Working Class Hero
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You'll have to experiment with it to find out for sure if that method will work, but a very clever idea.
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Can this be done to an aniline? Ph-NH2 --> Ph-N#C (# = triple bond)
That would be great! Or one could turn a benzylamine of your choosing into the phenethylamine of your choosing by
PhCH2-NH2 --> PhCH2-N#C --> PhCH2-C#N --> PhCH2CH2-NH2 (via reduction)
hmm, 2,5-dimethoxy-N-methyl-aniline --> 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methyl-aniline, and from there to 2CD. :)
PrimoPyro
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I am really struggling to find any details on the rearangement of isonitriles to nitriles (isocyanides to cyanides). I have done extensive patent searching with no results and also comprehensive engine searches with no luck.
All I have is a small passage in an organic chemistry book saying that, on heating isonitriles undergo rearrangement, forming nitriles.
Another interesting thing I found :
A newer method of synthesizing nitriles is to pass the vapour of the carboxylic acid or its ester, mixed with ammonia, over heated alumina at 500°c.
John Lennon - Working Class Hero
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Try heating the isonitriles in a high boiling suitable solvent (water free, and non-reactive with the isonitrile or the product) at temps around 180-220*C for a couple of hours then test however you can.