Metallation of Nitriles with Alkali Amide in Liquid Ammonia

1 Metallation of Nitriles with Alkali Amides in Liquid Ammonia 

Apparatus 1-1 round-bottomed, three-necked flask equipped with a dropping funnel, a mechanical stirrer, and a vent (rubber stopper with a hole of ca. 5 mm diameter). 

The nitrile (0.3 mol, Note 1) is added over 10 min to a well-stirred suspension of 

A small excess ( 0.3 g of Li or 0.6 g of Na) is used to compensate for losses due to the reaction with the Fein-salt and with water dissolved in the ammonia (the water content should be not higher than 0.1%). 

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