Buchner reaction mechanism

Add 25 g. of finely-powdered, dry acetanilide to 25 ml. of glacial acetic acid contained in a 500 ml. beaker introduce into the well-stirred mixture 92 g. (50 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid. The mixture becomes warm and a clear solution results. Surround the beaker with a freezing mixture of ice and salt, and stir the solution mechanically. Support a separatory funnel, containing a cold mixture of 15 -5 g. (11 ml.) of concentrated nitric acid and 12 -5 g. (7 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid, over the beaker. When the temperature of the solution falls to 0-2°, run in the acid mixture gradually while the temperature is maintained below 10°. After all the mixed acid has been added, remove the beaker from the freezing mixture, and allow it to stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Pour the reaction mixture on to 250 g. of crushed ice (or into 500 ml. of cold water), whereby the crude nitroacetanilide is at once precipitated. Allow to stand for 15 minutes, filter with suction on a Buchner funnel, wash it thoroughly with cold water until free from acids (test the wash water), and drain well. Recrystallise the pale yellow product from alcohol or methylated spirit (see Section IV,12 for experimental details), filter at the pump, wash with a httle cold alcohol, and dry in the air upon filter paper. [The yellow o-nitroacetanihde remains in the filtrate.] The yield of p-nitroacetanihde, a colourless crystalline sohd of m.p. 214°, is 20 g. 

In a 2 litre bolt-head flask, equipped with an efficient mechanical stirrer, place 60-5 g. (50 ml.) of pure nitrobenzene and a solution of 30 g. of ammonium chloride in 1 litre of water. Stir vigorously and add 75 g. of a good quality zinc powder (about 90 per cent, purity) in small portions over a period of 5 minutes. The main reaction occurs about 5 minutes after the addition and the temperature rises. When the temperature reaches about 65°, add enough ice to the weU-stirred mixture to reduce the temperature to 50-55°. Filter the solution through a Buchner funnel twenty minutes after the first portion of zinc powder was introduced wash the zinc oxide residues with 600-700 ml. of boiling water. 

Into a 1-litre beaker, provided with a mechanical stirrer, place 36 - 8 g. (36 ml.) of aniline, 50 g. of sodium bicarbonate and 350 ml. of water cool to 12-15° by the addition of a little crushed ice. Stir the mixture, and introduce 85 g. of powdered, resublimed iodine in portions of 5-6 g, at intervals of 2-3 minutes so that all the iodine is added during 30 minutes. Continue stirring for 20-30 minutes, by which time the colour of the free iodine in the solution has practically disappeared and the reaction is complete. Filter the crude p-iodoaniline with suction on a Buchner funnel, drain as completely as possible, and dry it in the air. Save the filtrate for the recovery of the iodine (1). Place the crude product in a 750 ml. round-bottomed flask fitted with a reflux double surface condenser add 325 ml. of light petroleum, b.p. 60-80°, and heat in a water bath maintained at 75-80°. Shake the flask frequently and after about 15 minutes, slowly decant the clear hot solution into a beaker set in a freezing mixture of ice and salt, and stir constantly. The p-iodoaniline crystallises almost immediately in almost colourless needles filter and dry the crystals in the air. Return the filtrate to the flask for use in a second extraction as before (2). The yield of p-iodoaniline, m.p. 62-63°, is 60 g. 

In a 5-I. round-bottom flask fitted with a reflux condenser, a mechanical stirrer (Note i) and a i-l. separatory funnel, is placed 2800 cc. of absolute ethyl alcohol (Note 2), and to this is added 125 g. (5.4 moles) of sodium over a period of one to two hours. The stirrer is started and the mixture allowed to cool to room temperature (Note 3), and a mixture of 730 g. (5 moles) of ethyl oxalate (Note 4) and 290 g. (5 moles) of acetone (Note 5) is added slowly over a period of two to three hours. At first a white precipitate forms this is followed by a yellow precipitate that darkens as the reaction proceeds and later turns yellow again. The temperature rises to about 40. Toward the end the mixture becomes so thick that stirring is difficult. Stirring is continued for one hour after the addition of the oxalate and acetone mixture. The yellow sodium salt is filtered by suction on two 20-cm. Buchner funnels (Note 6). The reaction flask is rinsed with 200 cc. of absolute ethyl alcohol, which is then used to wash the salt. The filtrate is turbid as a rule, but there is not enough sodium salt in suspension or solution to warrant recovery. 

In a 500-cc. three-neck, round-bottom flask provided with a mechanical stirrer is placed 106 g. (1 mole) of benzaldehyde (Note 1), and 93 g. (r mole) of aniline is added with rapid stirring. After a few seconds a reaction occurs with evolution of heat and separation of water. The mixture is allowed to stand fifteen minutes and is then poured, with vigorous stirring, into 165 cc. of 95 per cent alcohol in a 600-cc. beaker. Crystallization begins in about five minutes, and the mixture is allowed to stand, first ten minutes at room temperature, and then thirty minutes in ice water. The almost solid mass is next transferred to a large Buchner funnel, filtered by suction, pressed out, and air dried. The yield of pure benzalaniline melting at 520 is 152-158 g. (84-87 per cent of the theoretical amount). 

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