Acetic Anhydride → N-(3-Methylphenyl)acetamide

Participants

Reaction Steps

Acetic anhydride (176 mL) was added slowly to a stirred mixture of 103.2 mL of m-toluidine in 300 mL of water. After complete addition, the mixture was stirred for 4 hours at room temperature. The mixture was cooled in an ice bath, then extracted with diethyl ether. The ether extract was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and the filtrate evaporated under reduced pressure to leave an oily residue which solidified. The solid was collected, washed with water, then dissolved in diethyl ether. The etheral solution was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and the filtrate evaporated under reduced pressure to yield 3-acetamidotoluene as a solid, mp 59°-61° C.

Provenance & Evidence