Four hundred grams (3.5 moles) of ethyl cyanoacetate (p. 254) is poured into 300 cc. (4.5 moles) of concentrated aqueous ammonia (sp. gr. 0.90) (Note 1) contained in a 1-l. wide-mouthed Erlenmeyer flask. The mixture, which is cloudy at first, is shaken; it then warms up a little and becomes clear in about three minutes. The flask is allowed to stand one hour in an ice-salt mixture. The product is then filtered by suction (Note 2) and the solid washed with two 50-cc. portions of ice-cold ethyl alcohol (Note 3). After drying in the air, the slightly yellowish, crystalline amide weighs 205–225 g. A snow-white product is easily obtained by crystallizing from hot alcohol (Note 4) and (Note 5). For this purpose 200 g. of amide is dissolved in 350 cc. (Note 6) of hot 95 per cent alcohol and the solution cooled; pure amide is deposited with practically no loss.

An additional yield of amide is obtained by evaporating (Note 7) the original mother liquor to dryness under reduced pressure while heating the flask in a boiling water bath. The damp, brownish residue in the flask is dissolved in 100 cc. of hot alcohol. The hot solution is shaken a few minutes with decolorizing charcoal, filtered by suction while still hot, and then cooled in ice. Forty-six to fifty-eight grams of yellowish amide is deposited. One more crystallization with charcoal yields 44–56 g. of pure product.

The total yield is 255–261 g. (86–88 per cent of the theoretical amount). The product melts at 119–120°.