Question

Convert, acetamide into ethyl amine.

Hint:

Be careful! Hoffmann Bromamide degradation of acetamide would remove one carbon and yield methyl amine (\(CH_3NH_2\)). To keep the same number of carbons, use reduction.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The conversion involves reducing an amide group (\(-CONH_2\)) to a primary amine group (\(-CH_2NH_2\)) while retaining the number of carbon atoms.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation: Acetamide (\(CH_3CONH_2\)) has two carbon atoms. Ethyl amine (\(CH_3CH_2NH_2\)) also has two carbon atoms.
Strong reducing agents like Lithium Aluminium Hydride (\(LiAlH_4\)) are used for this purpose.
Reaction:
\[ CH_3CONH_2 + 4[H] \xrightarrow{\text{(i) } LiAlH_4 / \text{ether}, \text{ (ii) } H_3O^+} CH_3CH_2NH_2 + H_2O \]
Step 3: Final Answer:
Acetamide is converted to ethyl amine by reduction with \(LiAlH_4\) in the presence of dry ether.