Potassium phthalimide is an organic compound with the formula . It is the potassium salt of phthalimide, and usually presents as fluffy, very pale yellow crystals. It can be prepared by combining phthalimide and potassium hydroxide.:
This compound is a commercially available reagent used in the Gabriel synthesis of amines. It is a precursor to anthranilic acid, although sodium phthalimide is a more typical precursor..
Structure The structure of solid potassium phthalimide has been determined by X-ray crystallography. It is a salt, the K+ centers being bound to oxygen and nitrogen ligands.
References