When cyclohexanone reacts rigorously with a secondary amine like dimethylamine in the strict presenc — Amines Chemistry Question
Question
When cyclohexanone reacts rigorously with a secondary amine like dimethylamine in the strict presence of a catalytic acid (with continuous azeotropic removal of water), the resulting specific functional product is classed as an:
💡 Solution & Explanation
The reaction of a secondary amine with a ketone generates an unstable hemiaminal. Because the secondary amine absolutely lacks a second hydrogen to completely eliminate as water, the system forcefully removes an alpha-hydrogen from the adjacent cyclohexyl carbon instead, resulting in a carbon-carbon double bond adjacent to the nitrogen, structurally termed an enamine.