Formaldehyde → Formanilide

Participants

Reaction Steps

18.6 g (0.2 mol) of aniline are introduced into 30 ml of water, followed by the dropwise addition with stirring of 20 g (0.2 mol) of a 30 % by weight aqueous formaldehyde solution. 0.2 g of sodium tungstate are then added, followed by the dropwise addition with continued stirring of 25 g of a 30 % by weight aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution. The temperature rises to about 60° to 70°C. The dark oil precipitated is taken up in about 30 ml of methylene chloride and the organic phase is separated off. The aqueous phase is repeatedly extracted with methylene chloride. The combined organic phases are dried over sodium sulphate and subsequently subjected to fractional distillation in vacuo, giving 12.2 g (51 % of the theoretical yield) of formanilide boiling at 160° to 172°C/ 15 Torr.

Provenance & Evidence