Nitric Acid → 2-Butyl-5-nitro-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dione

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A 3-necked, 5-liter round-bottomed flask, equipped with a mechanical stirrer, was charged with 4,259 g (67.6 moles) of 99% nitric acid. To the flask was added 524.9 g (2.58 moles) N-butylphthalimide as a liquid at such a rate as to keep the reaction temperature under 40° C. The addition of the N-butylphthalimide was completed in about a half hour. The reaction was then heated for six hours to 50° C. in a temperature controlled water bath. The reaction product was then fed to a wiped film evaporator that was heated at 100° C. and under vacuum (30 mm). The bulk of the nitric acid was distilled off and the liquid product, i.e., 4-nitro-N-butylphthalimide and 3-nitro-N-butylphthalimide in a ratio of about 25:1, was isolated as a liquid which rapidly solidified to about 98% solids upon cooling in the collection vessel. Depending on the operation of the evaporator, the residual nitric acid in the product was less than 3% by weight, and was as low as 0.1% by weight

Provenance & Evidence