Sodium nitrite, preparation

They are prepared by the action of HNO2 on aromatic amines. The amine is dissolved in excess of mineral acid and sodium nitrite is added slowly until a slight excess of HNO2 is present. The reaction is usually carried out in ice-cold solution. The solution then contains the diazonium salt of the mineral acid used, anhydrous diazonium salts of unpredictable stability may be precipitated with complex anions like PF , SnCl6 BF4 . 

H—N—N=N. It is prepared by the oxidation of hydrazine in strongly acid solution the oxidising agent used is usually nitrous acid (i.e. sodium nitrite is added to the acid solution of hydrazine) ... 

Nitromethane, CH3NO2, the first member of the homologous series, can, however, be readily prepared by a special reaction. When equimolecular amounts of sodium nitrite and sodium monochloroacetate are heated together in aqueous solution, the chlorine in the monochloroacetate is replaced by the nitro group, and the sodium nitroacetate thus formed undergoes hydrolysis follow ed by decarboxylation ... 

Hence all the following preparations involving diazotisation are based on the use of Sodium Nitrite Recryst." and not Sodium Nitrite Technical or "Commercial. ... 

Meanwhile, during the cooling of the cuprous chloride solution, prepare a solution of benzenediazonium chloride by dissolving 20 ml. (20-5 g.) of aniline in a mixture of 50 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 50 ml. of water, and after cooling to 5°, adding slowly a solution of 17 g. of sodium nitrite in 40 ml. of water. Observe carefully the general conditions for diazotisation given in the preparation of iodobenzene (p. 184). 

The nitrosamines are insoluble in water, and the lower members are liquid at ordinary temperatures. The separation of an oily liquid when an aqueous solution of an amine salt is treated with sodium nitrite is therefore strong evidence that the amine is secondary. Diphenylnitrosoamine is selected as a preparation because it is a crystalline substance and is thus easier to manipulate on a small scale than one of the lower liquid members. For this preparation, a fairly pure (and therefore almost colourless) sample of diphenyl-amine should be used. Technical diphenylamine, which is almost black in colour, should not be employed. 

Prepare two solutions, one containing i g. of diphenylamine in 8 ml. of warm ethanol, and the other containing 0-5 g. of sodium nitrite in i ml. of water, and cool each solution in ice-water until the temperature falls to 5°. Now add o 8 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid steadily with stirring to the diphenylamine solution, and then without delay (otherwise diphenylamine hydrochloride may crystallise out) pour the sodium nitrite solution rapidly into the weil-stirred mixture. The temperature rises at once and the diphenylnitrosoamine rapidly crystallises out. Allow the mixture to stand in the ice-water tor 15 minutes, and then filter off the crystals at the pump, drain thoroughly, wash with water to remove sodium chloride, and then drain again. Recrystallise from methylated spirit. Diphenylnitrosoamine is thus obtained as very pale yellow crystals, m.p. 67 68° yield, 0 9-1 o g. 

Diazotisation. Dissolve 0 2 g. of anthranilic acid in about 4 ml. of dil. HCl and cool in ice-water. To this solution, add slowly about I ml. of cold 20% sodium nitrite. solution and divide the cold diazonium solution thus prepared into two portions A and B. 

Nitromethane is more easily prepared by heating together equimolecular amounts of sodium monochloroacetate and sodium nitrite in aqueous solution sodium nitroacetate is intermediately formed and is decomposed to nitromethane and sodium bicarbonate. The latter yields sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide at the temperature of the reaction. 

Note on the laboratory preparation of monoethylaniline. Although the laboratory preparation of monomethyl- or monoethyl-aniline is hardly worth whUe, the following experimental details may be useful to those who wish to prepare pure monoethylaniline directly from amline. In a flask, fitted with a double surface reflux condenser, place 50 g. (49 ml.) of aniline and 65 g. of ethyl bromide, and boU gently for 2 hours or until the mixture has almost entirely sohdified. Dissolve it in water and boil off the small quantity of unreacted ethyl bromide. Render the mixture alkaUne with concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, extract the precipitated bases with three 50 ml. portions of ether, and distil off the ether. The residual oil contains anihne, mono- and di-ethylaniline. Dissolve it in excess of dilute hydrochloric acid (say, 100 ml. of concentrated acid and 400 ml. of water), cool in ice, and add with stirring a solution of 37 g. of sodium nitrite in 100 ml. of water do not allow the temperature to rise above 10°. Tnis leads to the formation of a solution of phenyl diazonium chloride, of N-nitrosoethylaniline and of p-nitrosodiethylaniline. The nitrosoethylaniline separates as a dark coloured oil. Extract the oil with ether, distil off the ether, and reduce the nitrosoamine with tin and hydrochloric acid (see above). The yield of ethylaniline is 20 g. 

The experimental conditions necessary for the preparation of a solution of a diazonium salt, diazotisation of a primary amine, are as follows. The amine is dissolved in a suitable volume of water containing 2 5-3 equivalents of hydrochloric acid (or of sulphuric acid) by the application of heat if necessary, and the solution is cooled in ice when the amine hydrochloride (or sulphate) usually crystallises. The temperature is maintained at 0-5°, an aqueous solution of sodium nitrite is added portion-wise until, after allowing 3-4 minutes for reaction, the solution gives an immediate positive test for excess of nitrous acid with an external indicator—moist potassium iodide - starch paper f ... 

An interesting application of the diazo reaction is to the preparation of the otherwise difficultly accessible o- and />-dinitrobenzenes o- or p-rutrophenyl-diazonium fluoborates react with sodium nitrite in the presence of copper powder to yield o- or p-dinitrobenzene ... 

It is advisable to add the sodium nitrite solution, particularly in preparations on a larger scale, through a separatory or dropping funnel with the tip of the stem extending well below the sui-face of the liquid tliis will prevent loss of nitrous acid by surface decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. 

The sodium nitrite solution is conveniently added from a dropping funnel it is recommended, particularly for preparations on a larger scale, that the tip of the stem of the funnel dip well below the surface of the liquid. 

Chlorobenzene. Prepare a solution of phenyldiazonium chloride from 31 g. (30 -5 ml.) of aniUne, 85 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid, 85 ml, of water, and a solution of 24 g. of sodium nitrite in 50 ml. of water (for experimental details, see Section IV,60). Prepare cuprous chloride from 105 g. of crystallised copper sulphate (Section 11,50,1), and dissolve it in 170 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid. Add the cold phenyl diazonium chloride solution with shaking or stirring to the cold cuprous chloride solution allow the mixture to warm up to room temperature. Follow the experimental details given above for p-chlorotoluene. Wash the chlorobenzene separated from the steam distillate with 40 ml. of 10 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution (to remove phenol), then with water, dry with anhydrous calcium chloride or magnesium sulphate, and distil. Collect the chlorobenzene (a colourless liquid) at 131-133° (mainly 133°), The yield is 29 g. 

In a 1 or 1-5 htre round-bottomed flask prepare a solution of 53-5 g. of o-toluidine in 170 ml. of 48 per cent, hydrobromic acid, cool to 5° by immersion in a bath of ice and salt. Diazotise by the gradual addition of a solution of 36 -5 g. of sodium nitrite in 50 ml. of water stopper the flask after each addition and shake until all red fumes are absorbed. Keep the temperature between 5° and 10°. When the diazotisation is complete, add 2 g. of copper powder or copper bronze, attach a reflux condenser to the flask, and heat very cautiously on a water bath. Immediately evolution of gas occurs, cool the flask in crushed ice unless the... 

Dissolve 46-5 g. (45-5 ml.) of aniUne in a mixture of 126 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 126 ml. of water contained in a 1-htre beaker. Cool to 0-5° in a bath of ice and salt, and add a solution of 36-5 g. of sodium nitrite in 75 ml. of water in small portions stir vigorously with a thermometer (1) and maintain the temperature below 10°, but preferably at about 5° by the addition of a httle crushed ice if necessary. The diazotisation is complete when a drop of the solution diluted with 3-4 drops of water gives an immediate blue colouration with potassium iodide - starch paper the test should be performed 3-4 minutes after the last addition of the nitrite solution. Prepare a solution of 76 g. of sodium fluoborate (2) in 150 ml. of water, cool, and add the chilled solution slowly to the diazonium salt solution the latter must be kept well stirred (1) and the temperature controlled so that it is below 10°. Allow to stand for 10 minutes with frequent stirring. Filter... 

Make a thin paste of 21 5 g. of finely-powdered o-tolidine (a commercial product) with 300 ml. of water in a 1-litre beaker, add 25 g. (21 ml.) of concentrated hydrochloric acid, and warm until dissolved. Cool the solution to 10° with ice, stir mechanically, and add a further 25 g. (21 ml.) of concentrated hydrochloric acid (1) partial separation of o tolidine dihydrochloride will occur. Add a solution of 15 g, of sodium nitrite in 30 ml. of water as rapidly as possible, but keep the temperature below 15° a slight excess of nitrous acid is not harmful in this preparation. Add the clear, orange tetrazonium solution to 175 ml. of 30 per cent, hypophosphorous acid (2), and allow the mixture to stand, loosely stoppered, at room temperature for 16-18 hours. Transfer to a separatory funnel, and remove the upper red oily layer. Extract the aqueous layer with 50 ml, of benzene. Dry the combined upper layer and benzene extract with anhydrous magnesium sulphate, and remove the benzene by distillation (compare Fig. II, 13, 4) from a Widmer or similar flask (Figs. II, 24, 3-5) heat in an oil bath to 150° to ensure the removal of the last traces of benzene. Distil the residue at ca. 3 mm. pressure and a temperature of 155°. Collect the 3 3 -dimethyldiphenyl as a pale yellow liquid at 114-115°/3 mm. raise the bath temperature to about 170° when the temperature of the thermometer in the flask commences to fall. The yield is 14 g. 

Attention has previously (see Diazonium Sails) been drawn to the fact that unless an excess of hydrochloric (or mineral) acid is used in the diazotisation process, coupling occurs between the diazonium salt and the amine to give diazoamino compounds. Thus phenyldiazonium chloride and aniline yield diazoaminobenzene. This substance may be conveniently prepared by dissolving two equivalents of aniline in three equivalents of hydrochloric acid, and adding one equivalent of sodium nitrite in aqueous solution followed by two equivalents of sodium acetate ... 

I) An alternative procedure is to cool the solution containing the sodium sul. phanilate and sodium nitrite in a bath of crushed ice to about 5° and then add 10-5 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid diluted with an equal volume of water slowly and with stirring the temperature must not be allowed to rise above 10 and an excess of nitrous acid should be present (the solution is tested after standing for 5 minutes). The subsequent stages in the preparation—addition of dimethyl-aniline solution, etc.—are as above. 

Meihylamine hydrochloride method. Place 100 g. of 24 per cent, methyl-amine solution (6) in a tared 500 ml. flask and add concentrated hydrochloric acid (about 78 ml.) until the solution is acid to methyl red. Add water to bring the total weight to 250 g., then introduce lSO g. of urea, and boil the solution gently under reflux for two and three-quarter hours, and then vigorously for 15 minutes. Cool the solution to room temperature, dissolve 55 g. of 95 per cent, sodium nitrite in it, and cool to 0°. Prepare a mixture of 300 g. of crushed ice and 50 g. of concentrated sulphuric acid in a 1500 ml. beaker surrounded by a bath of ice and salt, and add the cold methylurea - nitrite solution slowly and with mechanical stirring and at such a rate (about 1 hour) that the temperature does not rise above 0°. It is recommended that the stem of the funnel containii the methylurea - nitrite solution dip below the surface of the acid solution. The nitrosomethylurea rises to the surface as a crystalline foamy precipitate. Filter at once at the pump, and drain well. Stir the crystals into a paste with about 50 ml. of cold water, suck as dry as possible, and dry in a vacuum desiccator to constant weight. The yield is 55 g. (5). 

Nitrosyl chloride (178), nitrosyl chloride—hydrogen fluoride (NOF -3HF, NOF -6HF) (179), nitrous acid—hydrogen fluoride solutions (180,181), or nitrogen trioxide (prepared in situ from nitric oxide and oxygen) (27) can be used in place of sodium nitrite in the dia2oti2ation step. 

Plutonium Purification. The aqueous feed for the second plutonium cycle is typically prepared by adding HNO and an excess of sodium nitrite, NaN02, to destroy the excess reductant and oxidize the Pu to the more extractable Pu . An alternative approach which reduces the amount of salt in the Hquid waste involves absorbing nitrogen tetroxide, N2O4, as a substitute for the NaN02 ... 

Condensation ofDianhydrides with Diamines. The preparation of polyetherknides by the reaction of a diamine with a dianhydride has advantages over nitro-displacement polymerization sodium nitrite is not a by-product and thus does not have to be removed from the polymer, and a dipolar aprotic solvent is not required, which makes solvent-free melt polymerization a possibiUty. Aromatic dianhydride monomers (8) can be prepared from A/-substituted rutrophthalimides by a three-step sequence that utilizes the nitro-displacement reaction in the first step, followed by hydrolysis and then ring closure. For the 4-nitro compounds, the procedure is as follows. 

Heat Treatment and Heat-Transfer Salts. Mixtures of sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate are used to prepare molten salt baths and heat-transfer media. One of the most widely used eutectic mixtures uses 40% NaN02, 7% NaNO, and 53% KNO [7757-79-1] to give a... 

The assay determination of sulfamic acid is made by titration of an accurately prepared sulfamic acid solution using sodium nitrite solution and an external potassium iodide starch-paste indicator. It is based on the reaction... 

Later, a completely different and more convenient synthesis of riboflavin and analogues was developed (34). It consists of the nitrosative cyclization of 6-(A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdino)uracil (18), obtained from the condensation of A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdine (11) and 6-chlorouracil (19), with excess sodium nitrite in acetic acid, or the cyclization of (18) with potassium nitrate in acetic in the presence of sulfuric acid, to give riboflavin-5-oxide (20) in high yield. Reduction with sodium dithionite gives (1). In another synthesis, 5-nitro-6-(A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdino) uracil (21), prepared in situ from the condensation of 6-chloro-5-nitrouracil (22) with A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdine (11), was hydrogenated over palladium on charcoal in acetic acid. The filtrate included 5-amino-6-(A/-D-ribityl-3,4-xyhdino)uracil (23) and was maintained at room temperature to precipitate (1) by autoxidation (35). These two pathways are suitable for the preparation of riboflavin analogues possessing several substituents (Fig. 4). 

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