Ammonia → Nordiazepam

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of methanol (550 mls), hexamethylenetetramine (14.1 g., 0.1 mol) and 2-chloroacetamido-5-chlorobenzophenone (308.2 g., 1.0 mol) was stirred and saturated with ammonia at room temperature. The mixture was heated slowly to reflux with a steady stream of ammonia bubbling through the solution. Refluxing was continued for 24 hours. The flow of ammonia was interrupted and the crystal slurry obtained was cooled to room temperature. The product, filtered, washed with methanol (2 × 125 ml) and hot water (4 × 500 ml), and dried gave 7-chloro-1,3-dihydro-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one (169 g., 62.3%) melting at 213° to 215° C.

Provenance & Evidence