Solvent-Free N-Formylation: An Experimental Application of Basic Concepts and Techniques of Organic Chemistry

N-Formamides are important intermediates in the synthesis of many pharmacologically active compounds and are used as protecting groups for amines or as catalysts in different reactions. The current N-formylation experiment is designed as a part of an introductory organic chemistry course for undergraduate students. The experiment includes formylation of substituted aromatic amines using formic acid under solvent-free conditions. Students are introduced to laboratory safety precautions, reaction mechanism, and basic laboratory techniques such as a solvent-free reaction setup, reflux, filtration, melting point determination, yield calculation, and lab report write-up. Students synthesized four different formamides in 50–80% yield as a straightforward application of nucleophilic substitution reactions.