When phenyl alanine is treated with nitrous acid, the product obtained is (a) 1 -amino-2-phenyl-ethanol (b) 3 -hydroxy- 2 -phenyl-propanoic acid (c) 2 -amino- 1 -phenyl-ethanol (d) 2-hydroxy-3-phenyl-propanoic acid

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: 3-hydroxy-2-phenyl-propanoic acid

Step by step solution

01

Identify the structure of phenyl alanine

Phenyl alanine is an α-amino acid with a benzyl side chain. Its structure can be represented as follows: HOOC-CH(NH₂)-CH₂-C₆H₅ (COOH and NH₂ represent the carboxyl and amino groups, respectively, and C₆H₅ represents the phenyl group)
02

Understand nitrous acid reaction

Nitrous acid (HONO) is a weak and unstable acid. It reacts with primary amines, such as the amino group in phenyl alanine, to form an intermediate diazonium salt. The diazonium salt is highly reactive and reacts with water to form a hydroxyl group (-OH) at the same position where the amino group (-NH₂) was initially present.
03

Determine the product structure

Based on the reaction mechanism of nitrous acid with primary amines, we know that the amino group (-NH₂) of phenyl alanine will be replaced with a hydroxyl group (-OH). By doing this, the product formed will have the following structure: HOOC-CH(OH)-CH₂-C₆H₅
04

Match the product structure with the given options

Now, let's match the product structure we obtained with the given options. (a) 1 -amino-2-phenyl-ethanol is incorrect because the amino group has not been replaced with a hydroxyl group. (b) 3 -hydroxy- 2 -phenyl-propanoic acid is the correct answer, as it represents the structure of the product we obtained in Step 3 (HOOC-CH(OH)-CH₂-C₆H₅). (c) 2 -amino- 1 -phenyl-ethanol is incorrect because the amino group has not been replaced with a hydroxyl group. (d) 2-hydroxy-3-phenyl-propanoic acid is incorrect because the hydroxyl group is attached to the wrong carbon atom. Thus, the correct answer is (b) 3 -hydroxy- 2 -phenyl-propanoic acid.

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