Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
...hydrogen atoms on the reacting site). To avoid the problem of multiple alkylation, methods have been devised for “blocking” substitution so that only one alkyl group is introduced. The Gabriel synthesis is one such method; it utilizes phthalimide, C6H4(CO)2NH, whose one acidic hydrogen atom has been removed upon the addition of a base such as KOH to...
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.