--- title: "Acid hydrolysis of an amide Template | MolDraw" url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/amide-hydrolysis-acid/ description: "Acid hydrolysis of an amide template: Ethanamide in hot aqueous acid: O-protonation, attack by water, proton transfer to N, loss of NH₃ and its protonation…" lang: en publisher: Scidart Academy generated: 2026-11-13 --- [MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/) › [Templates](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/) › [Mechanisms](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/mechanisms/) › Acid hydrolysis of an amide [Mechanisms](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/mechanisms/)Premium # Acid hydrolysis of an amide template ![Acid hydrolysis of an amide template: Ethanamide in hot aqueous acid: O-protonation, attack by water, proton transfer to N, loss of NH₃ and its protonation give ethanoic acid and ammonium.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/amide-hydrolysis-acid.webp) [Edit in MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/)Download with Pro Premium template. Preview and edit it free in MolDraw; downloading and exporting it is part of [MolDraw Pro](https://www.moldraw.com/pricing). Ethanamide in hot aqueous acid: O-protonation, attack by water, proton transfer to N, loss of NH₃ and its protonation give ethanoic acid and ammonium. ## Mechanism step by step Protonation, water addition and loss of ammonia, which is trapped as NH₄⁺ 1. **O-Protonation** – O, not N: the N lone pair is delocalised 2. **Water adds** – Tetrahedral intermediate 3. **Proton transfer** – H⁺ moves from O to N (through the solvent) 4. **Loss of NH₃** – An O lone pair pushes out ammonia 5. **NH₃ takes H⁺** – NH₄⁺ cannot attack back: the step that makes it irreversible ## Key points - Amides are the least reactive acid derivatives (amide resonance), so prolonged heating with strong acid is needed. - Acid gives RCOOH + NH₄⁺; alkali gives RCOO⁻ + NH₃ (turns damp red litmus blue). - Proteins are hydrolysed to amino acids this way (6 M HCl, 110 °C, 24 h). - Nitriles hydrolyse through the amide, so they end at the same products. Drawn with 64 atoms, 16 arrows, 7 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw. ## Sources - [Clayden, Greeves & Warren, Organic Chemistry, 2nd ed., OUP 2012, ch. 10](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780199270293) Textbook - [Smith, March's Advanced Organic Chemistry, 8th ed., Wiley 2020, ch. 16](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781119371809) Textbook ## How to use this template 1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor. 2. Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need. 3. Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page. 4. Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Acid hydrolysis of an amide template free? You can preview the Acid hydrolysis of an amide template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates. ### Can I edit the Acid hydrolysis of an amide template? Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it. ### Is the chemistry checked? Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page. ### What is a curly-arrow mechanism template? A ready-made drawing of a reaction mechanism in which curved arrows show where electron pairs move in each step. 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