Question

N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone is an aprotic solvent used in many industrial processes. Draw the structure of the product formed when it is heated with strong aqueous acid 6MHCI, H20 and heat.

 

Answer 1

Concepts and reason

This problem is based on the concept of the reaction of \(\mathrm{N}\) -methyl- 2 -pyrrolidone. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is an organic compound that consists of a five-membered lactam. It is called NMP as short. It is a beneficial compound that is used to recover hydrocarbons generated during the processing of petrochemicals.

Fundamentals

N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is a very reactive compound. It reacts in an acidic medium to form a variety of products. Some reactions involve the ring-opening step.

 

The structure of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is given below:

The compound has a five-membered ring, which consists of four carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom. The ring has one oxygen attached to it via the double bond, and one methyl group is attached to the nitrogen atom.

The chemical reaction involved is as follows:

The structure of the product is given below:

N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone on reaction with strong aqueous acidic medium followed by the treatment of heat results in the opening of the ring and forms a compound having a carboxylic group at one end and protonated nitrogen atom which has one methyl group attached to it, at another end.

 

The structure of the product is given below: