ChemistryCode 9701
Nitriles and hydroxynitriles
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- recall the routes for making nitriles: (a) a halogenoalkane heated with KCN in ethanol
- recall the methods for making hydroxynitriles: (a) aldehydes and ketones combined with HCN, using KCN as a catalyst and warming the mixture
- describe how nitriles undergo hydrolysis by means of dilute acid or dilute alkali, with acidification afterwards, to yield a carboxylic acid