Direct alkylation of ammonia produces polyalkylated amines, along with a quaternary ammonium salt. To exclusively prepare primary amines, the azide synthesis method can be used.
Azide ions act as good nucleophiles and react with unhindered alkyl halides to form alkyl azides. Alkyl azides do not participate in further nucleophilic substitution reactions, thereby eliminating the chances of polyalkylated products. Alkyl azides are reduced by hydride-based reducing agents, like lithium aluminum...

The simplest aromatic amine is phenylamine, which contains an –NH2 functionality directly attached to an aromatic ring. The name aniline is designated for this skeleton. As shown in Figure 1, the common names of the functionalized anilines involve prefixes ortho-, meta-, and para- to indicate the substitution position. Different functionalized aniline derivatives also have notable trivial names.

Nitrous acid, a weak acid, is prepared in situ via the reaction of sodium nitrite with a strong acid under cold conditions. This nitrous acid prepared in situ reacts with primary arylamines to form arenediazonium salts. Such reactions are known as diazotization reactions. As shown in Figure 1, the formation of arenediazonium salts begins with the decomposition of nitrous acid in an acidic solution to give nitrosonium ions.

Arenediazonium substitution reactions occur when the diazonium group is substituted by various functional groups such as halides, hydroxyl, nitrile, etc. For instance, arenediazonium salts react with copper(I) salts of chloride, bromide, or cyanide to form corresponding aryl chlorides, bromides, and nitriles. These reactions are named Sandmeyer reactions. Although the mechanism of this reaction is complicated, as illustrated in Figure 1, they are believed to progress via an aryl copper...

The Cope rearrangement is classified as a [3,3] sigmatropic shift in 1,5-dienes, leading to a more stable, isomeric 1,5-diene. The reaction involves a concerted movement of six electrons, four from two π bonds and two from a σ bond, via an energetically favorable chair-like transition state.

The Diels–Alder reaction is an example of a thermal pericyclic reaction between a conjugated diene and an alkene or alkyne, commonly referred to as a dienophile. The reaction involves a concerted movement of six π electrons, four from the diene and two from the dienophile, forming an unsaturated six-membered ring. As a result, these reactions are classified as [4+2] cycloadditions.