--- title: "Mannich reaction Template – Chemistry Diagram | MolDraw" url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/mannich-reaction/ description: "Mannich reaction template: Dimethylamine and formaldehyde give an iminium ion; the enol of acetone attacks it to give the Mannich base. Preview it, then open…" lang: en publisher: Scidart Academy generated: 2026-10-28 --- [MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/) › [Templates](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/) › [Name reactions](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/name-reactions/) › Mannich reaction [Name reactions](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/name-reactions/)Premium # Mannich reaction template ![Mannich reaction template: Dimethylamine and formaldehyde give an iminium ion; the enol of acetone attacks it to give the Mannich base.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/mannich-reaction.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). Dimethylamine and formaldehyde give an iminium ion; the enol of acetone attacks it to give the Mannich base. ## Mechanism step by step An enol attacks an iminium ion from an amine and formaldehyde: a β-amino ketone 1. **Amine adds** – Attack on formaldehyde 2. **Proton transfer** – A hemiaminal 3. **Protonation** – OH becomes a leaving group 4. **Iminium ion** – The N lone pair pushes out water 5. **C–C bond** – The enol of acetone attacks the iminium carbon 6. **Deprotonation** – The Mannich base ## Key points - Three components in one pot: enolisable carbonyl, formaldehyde, amine. - The iminium ion is a better electrophile than formaldehyde itself. - Robinson’s tropinone synthesis (1917) is a double Mannich reaction. - Mannich bases eliminate the amine on heating to give enones. Drawn with 97 atoms, 20 arrows, 8 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw. ## Sources - [Mannich & Krösche, Arch. Pharm. 1912, 250, 647](https://doi.org/10.1002/ardp.19122500151) Original paper - [Kürti & Czakó, Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis, Elsevier 2005](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780124297852) Textbook - [Clayden, Greeves & Warren, Organic Chemistry, 2nd ed., OUP 2012](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780199270293) 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 Mannich reaction template free? You can preview the Mannich reaction 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 Mannich reaction 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. ### Which name reactions are included? 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