Question

Question: Identify the product M of the following two-step reaction sequence. M was converted to the hallucinogen LSD (Figure 18.4) in several steps.

Short answer

Answers

The product M formed by the two-step reaction is shown below.

Step-by-step solution

 Step 1: Halogenation

Halogenation is carried out by treating a carbonyl compound that consists of alpha hydrogen atoms with halogen and in the presence of an acid.

Nucleophilic reagents

Reagents, such as ethylamine and methyl mercaptan, are nucleophilic reagents due to the presence of lone pairs over N and S, respectively. They take part in bimolecular nucleophilic substitution reactions. The product obtained from the reaction is a nucleophilic substituted product.

The formation of the products in the given reaction

The products formed in the given reaction are shown below.

Representation of the product formed by the halogenation in acid

Representation of the nucleophilic product