Question

In the Ritter reaction, an alkene reacts with a nitrile in the presence of strong aqueous sulfuric acid to yield an amide. Propose a mechanism.

Short answer

A mechanism of Ritter reaction is shown below

Step-by-step solution

Definition of mechanism

The sequence of elementary steps by which a chemical reaction occurs is defined as mechanism

Explanation

Protonation of the double bond in alkene by sulfuric acid leads to the formation of a tertiary carbocation.

The electrophilic nitrogen of the acetonitrile attacks the carbocation .

The nucleophilic attack of water on the nitrile carbon and subsequent removal of a proton yields the imidol.

The imidol then tautomerizes to yield the amide required

A mechanism of Ritter reaction is shown below