Acetamide

Acetamide (systematic name: ethanamide) is an organic compound with the formula CH₃CONH₂. It is an amide derived from ammonia and acetic acid. It finds some use as a plasticizer and as an industrial solvent.<ref name = ullmann/> The related compound N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) is more widely used, but it is not prepared from acetamide. Acetamide can be considered an intermediate between acetone, which has two methyl (CH₃) groups either side of the carbonyl (CO), and urea which has two amide (NH₂) groups in those locations. Acetamide is also a naturally occurring mineral<ref>Mindat: Naturally occurring acetamide</ref> with the IMA symbol: Ace.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Production

File:CSD CIF ACEMID06.jpg

Structure of acetamide hydrogen-bonded dimer from X-ray crystallography. Selected distances: C-O: 1.243, C-N, 1.325, N---O, 2.925 Å. Color code: red = O, blue = N, gray = C, white = H.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Laboratory scale

Acetamide can be produced in the laboratory from ammonium acetate by dehydration:<ref>Template:OrgSynth</ref>

[NH₄][CH₃CO₂] → CH₃C(O)NH₂ + H₂O

Alternatively acetamide can be obtained in excellent yield via ammonolysis of acetylacetone under conditions commonly used in reductive amination.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It can also be made from anhydrous acetic acid, acetonitrile and very well dried hydrogen chloride gas, using an ice bath, alongside more valuable reagent acetyl chloride. Yield is typically low (up to 35%), and the acetamide made this way is generated as a salt with HCl.

Industrial scale

In a similar fashion to some laboratory methods, acetamide is produced by dehydrating ammonium acetate or via the hydration of acetonitrile, a byproduct of the production of acrylonitrile:<ref name = ullmann>Template:Ullmann</ref>

CH₃CN + H₂O → CH₃C(O)NH₂

Uses

Acetamide is used as a plasticizer and an industrial solvent.<ref name="ullmann" /> Molten acetamide is good solvent with a broad range of applicability. Notably, its dielectric constant is higher than most organic solvents, allowing it to dissolve inorganic compounds with solubilities closely analogous to that of water.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Acetamide has uses in electrochemistry and the organic synthesis of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and antioxidants for plastics.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is a precursor to thioacetamide.<ref>Template:OrgSynth</ref>

Occurrence

Acetamide has been detected near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This finding is potentially significant because acetamide has an amide bond, similar to the essential bond between amino acids in proteins. This finding lends support to the theory that organic molecules that can lead to life (as we know it on Earth) can form in space.

On 30 July 2015, scientists reported that upon the first touchdown of the Philae lander on comet 67/PTemplate:'s surface, measurements by the COSAC and Ptolemy instruments revealed sixteen organic compounds, four of which – acetamide, acetone, methyl isocyanate, and propionaldehyde<ref name="wapo20150730">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="esa20150730">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20150731">Template:Cite journal</ref> – were seen for the first time on a comet.

In addition, acetamide is found infrequently on burning coal dumps, as a mineral of the same name.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

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