Nitrile

What are nitriles?

Nitriles contain the -CN group, and used to be known as cyanides.

Some simple nitriles

The smallest organic nitrile is ethanenitrile, CH₃CN, (old name: methyl cyanide or acetonitrile - and sometimes now called ethanonitrile). Hydrogen cyanide, HCN, doesn't usually count as organic, even though it contains a carbon atom.

Notice the triple bond between the carbon and nitrogen in the -CN group.

The three simplest nitriles are:

CH3CN	ethanenitrile
CH3CH2CN	propanenitrile
CH3CH2CH2CN	butanenitrile

When you are counting the length of the carbon chain, don't forget the carbon in the -CN group. If the chain is branched, this carbon usually counts as the number 1 carbon.

Physical properties

Boiling points

The small nitriles are liquids at room temperature.

nitrile	boiling point (°C)
CH3CN	82
CH3CH2CN	97
CH3CH2CH2CN	116 - 118

These boiling points are very high for the size of the molecules - similar to what you would expect if they were capable of forming hydrogen bonds.

However, they don't form hydrogen bonds - they don't have a hydrogen atom directly attached to an electronegative element.

They are just very polar molecules. The nitrogen is very electronegative and the electrons in the triple bond are very easily pulled towards the nitrogen end of the bond.

Nitriles therefore have strong permanent dipole-dipole attractions as well as van der Waals dispersion forces between their molecules.

Solubility in water

Ethanenitrile is completely soluble in water, and the solubility then falls as chain length increases.

nitrile	solubility at 20°C
CH3CN	miscible
CH3CH2CN	10 g per 100 cm3 of water
CH3CH2CH2CN	3 g per 100 cm3 of water

The reason for the solubility is that although nitriles can't hydrogen bond with themselves, they can hydrogen bond with water molecules.

One of the slightly positive hydrogen atoms in a water molecule is attracted to the lone pair on the nitrogen atom in a nitrile and a hydrogen bond is formed.

There will also, of course, be dispersion forces and dipole-dipole attractions between the nitrile and water molecules.

Forming these attractions releases energy. This helps to supply the energy needed to separate water molecule from water molecule and nitrile molecule from nitrile molecule before they can mix together.

As chain lengths increase, the hydrocarbon parts of the nitrile molecules start to get in the way.

By forcing themselves between water molecules, they break the relatively strong hydrogen bonds between water molecules without replacing them by anything as good. This makes the process energetically less profitable, and so solubility decreases.

The hydrolysis of nitriles
When nitriles are hydrolysed you can think of them reacting with water in two stages - first to produce an amide, and then the ammonium salt of a carboxylic acid.
For example, ethanenitrile would end up as ammonium ethanoate going via ethanamide.


In practice, the reaction between nitriles and water would be so slow as to be completely negligible. The nitrile is instead heated with either a dilute acid such as dilute hydrochloric acid, or with an alkali such as sodium hydroxide solution.
The end result is similar in all the cases, but the exact nature of the final product varies depending on the conditions you use for the reaction.

Acidic hydrolysis of nitriles
The nitrile is heated under reflux with dilute hydrochloric acid. Instead of getting an ammonium salt as you would do if the reaction only involved water, you produce the free carboxylic acid.
For example, with ethanenitrile and hydrochloric acid you would get ethanoic acid and ammonium chloride.


Why is the free acid formed rather than the ammonium salt? The ethanoate ions in the ammonium ethanoate react with hydrogen ions from the hydrochloric acid to produce ethanoic acid. Ethanoic acid is only a weak acid and so once it has got the hydrogen ion, it tends to hang on to it.
  Alkaline hydrolysis of nitriles
The nitrile is heated under reflux with sodium hydroxide solution. This time, instead of getting an ammonium salt as you would do if the reaction only involved water, you get the sodium salt. Ammonia gas is given off as well.
For example, with ethanenitrile and sodium hydroxide solution you would get sodium ethanoate and ammonia.


The ammonia is formed from reaction between ammonium ions and hydroxide ions.
If you wanted the free carboxylic acid in this case, you would have to acidify the final solution with a strong acid such as dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute sulphuric acid. The ethanoate ion in the sodium ethanoate will react with hydrogen ions as mentioned above.

Reactions of Nitriles

Reaction type:  Nucleophilic Addition

Overview

• Nitriles typically undergo nucleophilic addition to give products that often undergo a further reaction.
• The chemistry of the nitrile functional group, CºN, is very similar to that of the carbonyl, C=O of aldehydes and ketones. Compare the two schemes:

        versus

• However, it is convenient to describe nitriles as carboxylic acid derivatives because:
• the oxidation state of the C is the same as that of the carboxylic acid derivatives.
• hydrolysis produces the carboxylic acid
• Like the carbonyl containing compounds, nitriles react with nucleophiles via two scenarios:

• Strong nucleophiles (anionic) add directly to the CºN to form an intermediate imine salt that protonates (and often reacts further) on work-up with dilute acid.

            Examples of such nucleophilic systems are :  RMgX, RLi, RCºCM, LiAlH₄
 

• Weaker nucleophiles (neutral) require that the CºN be activated prior to attack of the Nu.

     This can be done using a acid catalyst which protonates on the Lewis basic N and makes the system more electrophilic.

 

            Examples of such nucleophilic systems are :  H₂O, ROH
 

The protonation of a nitrile gives a structure that can be redrawn in another resonance form that reveals the electrophilic character of  the C since it is a carbocation.

Hydrolysis of Nitriles

Reaction type:  Nucleophilic Addition then Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution

Summary

• Nitriles, RCºN, can be hydrolyzed to carboxylic acids, RCO₂H via the amide, RCONH₂.
• Reagents : Strong acid (e.g. H₂SO₄) or strong base (e.g. NaOH) / heat.

Related Reactions

• Hydrolysis of Esters and Amides 

MECHANISM OF THE ACID catalyzed HYDROLYSIS OF NITRILES
Step 1: An acid/base reaction. Since we only have a weak nucleophile so activate the nitrile, protonation makes it more electrophilic.
Step 2: The water O functions as the nucleophile attacking the electrophilic C in the CºN, with the electrons moving towards the positive center.
Step 3: An acid/base reaction. Deprotonate the oxygen that came from the water molecule. The remaining task is a tautomerization at N and O centers.
Step 4: An acid/base reaction. Protonate the N gives us the -NH2 we need....
Step 5: Use the electrons of an adjacent O to neutralise the positive at the N and form the p bond in the C=O.
Step 6: An acid/base reaction. Deprotonation of the oxonium ion reveals the carbonyl in the amide intermediate....halfway to the acid.....

 

Reduction of Nitriles

Reactions usually in Et₂O or THF followed by H₃O⁺ work-up

Reaction type: Nucleophilic Addition

Summary

• The nitrile, RCºN, gives the 1^o amine by conversion of the CºN to -CH₂-NH₂
• Nitriles can be reduced by LiAlH₄ but NOT the less reactive  NaBH₄
• Typical reagents :  LiAlH₄  / ether solvent followed by aqueous work-up.
• Catalytic hydrogenation (H₂ / catalyst) can also be used giving the same products.
• R may be either alkyl or aryl substituents

Reactions of RLi or RMgX with Nitriles

Reaction usually in Et₂O or  THF

Reaction type:  Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution then Nucleophilic Addition

Summary:

• Nitriles, RCºN, react with Grignard reagents or organolithium reagents to give ketones.
• The strongly nucleophilic organometallic reagents add to the CºN bond in a similar fashion to that seen for aldehydes and ketones.
• The reaction proceeds via an imine salt intermediate that is then hydrolyzed to give the ketone product.

• Since the ketone is not formed until after the addition of water, the organometallic reagent does not get the opportunity to react with the ketone product.
• Nitriles are less reactive than aldehydes and ketones.
• The mechanism is an example of the reactive system type

REACTION OF RMgX WITH AN NITRILE
	Step 1: The nucleophilic C in the organometallic reagent adds to the electrophilic C in the polar nitrile group. Electrons from the CºN move to the electronegative N creating an intermediate imine salt complex.
	Step 2: An acid/base reaction. On addition of aqueous acid, the intermediate salt protonates giving the imine.
	Step 3: An acid/base reaction. Imines undergo nucleophilic addition, but require activation by protonation (i.e. acid catalysis)
	Step 4: Now the nucleophilic O of a water molecule attacks the electrophilic C with the p bond breaking to neutralize the change on the N.
	Step 5: An acid/base reaction. Deprotonate the O from the water molecule to neutralize the positive charge.
	Step 6: An acid/base reaction. Before the N system leaves, it needs to be made into a better leaving group by protonation.
	Step 7: Use the electrons on the O in order to push out the N leaving group, a neutral molecule of ammonia.
	Step 8: An acid/base reaction. Deprotonation reveals the carbonyl group of the ketone product.