Willgerodt and Related Reactions

The name of Conrad Willgerodt is associated with a group of closely related reactions which have as a common feature the conversion of a carbonyl compound into an amide mth the same number of carbon atoms. The original process involved the reaction of an appropriately substituted alkyl aryl ketone with an aqueous solution of yellow ammonium polysulfide at an elevated temperature to form an aiyl-substituted aliphatic acid amide, ti ether with a smaller amount of the corresponding ammonium salt of the carboxylic acid. An example is the conversion of acetophenone into phenylacetamide and ammonium phenylacetate. ... 

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