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| Names | |||
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| Preferred IUPAC name
Pyridin-2(1H)-one | |||
| Other names
2(1H)-Pyridinone 2(1H)-Pyridone 1H-Pyridine-2-one 2-Pyridone 1,2-Dihydro-2-oxopyridine 1H-2-Pyridone 2-Oxopyridone 2-Pyridinol 2-Hydroxypyridine | |||
| Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChEBI | |||
| ChEMBL | |||
| ChemSpider | |||
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.005.019 | ||
| EC Number |
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| KEGG | |||
PubChem CID |
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| RTECS number |
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| UNII | |||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |||
| C5H5NO | |||
| Molar mass | 95.101 g·mol−1 | ||
| Appearance | Colourless crystalline solid | ||
| Density | 1.39 g/cm3 | ||
| Melting point | 107.8 °C (226.0 °F; 380.9 K) | ||
| Boiling point | 280 °C (536 °F; 553 K) decomp. | ||
| Solubility in other solvents | Soluble in water, methanol, acetone | ||
| Acidity (pKa) | 11.65 | ||
| UV-vis (λmax) | 293 nm (ε 5900, H2O soln) | ||
| Structure | |||
| Orthorhombic | |||
| planar | |||
| 4.26 D | |||
| Hazards | |||
| Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |||
Main hazards |
irritating | ||
| GHS labelling: | |||
| Danger | |||
| H301, H315, H319, H335 | |||
| P261, P264, P270, P271, P280, P301+P310, P302+P352, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P312, P321, P330, P332+P313, P337+P313, P362, P403+P233, P405, P501 | |||
| NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
| Flash point | 210 °C (410 °F; 483 K) | ||
| Related compounds | |||
Other anions |
2-Pyridinolate | ||
Other cations |
2-Hydroxypyridinium-ion | ||
Related functional groups |
alcohol, lactam, lactim, pyridine, ketone | ||
Related compounds |
pyridine, thymine, cytosine, uracil, benzene | ||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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2-Pyridone is an organic compound with the formula C
5H
4NH(O). It is a colourless solid. It is well known to form hydrogen bonded dimers and it is also a classic case of a compound that exists as tautomers.
Pyridone is tautomeric with 2-hydroxypyridine:

Similar lactam-lactim tautomerism can also be exhibited in many related compounds.
The tautomerization has been exhaustively studied. The energy difference appears to be very small, and the dominant tautomer depends strongly on the phase of matter. The energy difference in the gas phase was measured by IR spectroscopy to be 2.43 to 3.3 kJ/mol for the solid state and 8.83 to 8.95 kJ/mol for the liquid state. The predominant solid state form is 2-pyridone, as confirmed by X-ray crystallography and IR spectroscopy.[citation needed] Non-polar solvents generally favour 2-hydroxypyridine whereas polar solvents such as alcohols and water favour the 2-pyridone.
In either case, the amide group can be involved in hydrogen bonding. 2-Pyridone, 2-hydroxypyridine, and substituted derivatives can form dimers with two hydrogen bonds...

...but X-ray crystallography indicates that the parent compounds do not so dimerize in the solid state; instead, the 2-pyridones form a helical structure. Contrariwise, some substituted 2-pyridones, for example 5-methyl-3-carbonitrile-2-pyridone, adopt solid-state dimers.
In solution the dimeric form is present; the ratio of dimerisation is strongly dependent on the polarity of the solvent. Polar and protic solvents can hydrogen-bond directly to pyridone, and the equilibrium shifts towards the monomer. Hydrophobic effects in non-polar solvents lead to a predominance of the dimer.
In any given system, all possible tautomers and dimers can be present and form an equilibrium, and the exact measurement of all the equilibrium constants is extremely difficult.
Tautomeric transition is generally believed to occur through multimolecular pathways. A monomolecular mechanism would require a forbidden 1-3 suprafacial transition state, and theoretical methods compute an energy barrier between 125 and 210 kJ/mol. Dimerisation, followed by double proton transfer and dissociation, is an autocatalytic path from one tautomer to the other. Protic solvents also mediate proton transfer during tautomerisation.
2-Pyrone can be obtained by a cyclisation reaction, and converted to 2-pyridone via an exchange reaction with ammonia:
Pyridine forms an N-oxide with some oxidation agents such as hydrogen peroxide. This pyridine-N-oxide undergoes a rearrangement reaction to 2-pyridone in acetic anhydride:
In the Guareschi-Thorpe condensation cyanoacetamide reacts with a 1,3-diketone to a 2-pyridone. The reaction is named after Icilio Guareschi and Jocelyn Field Thorpe.
2-Pyridone catalyses a variety of proton-dependent reactions, for example the aminolysis of esters. In some cases, molten 2-pyridone is used as a solvent. 2-Pyridone has a large effect on the reaction from activated esters with amines in nonpolar solvent, which is attributed to its tautomerisation and utility as a ditopic receptor. Proton transfer from 2-pyridone and its tautomer have been investigated by isotope labeling, kinetics and quantum chemical methods.
2-Pyridone and some derivatives serve as ligands in coordination chemistry, usually as a 1,3-bridging ligand akin to carboxylate.
2-Pyridone is not naturally occurring, but a derivative has been isolated as a cofactor in certain hydrogenases.
2-Pyridone is rapidly degraded by microorganisms in the soil environment, with a half life less than one week.
Organisms capable of growth on 2-pyridone as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy have been isolated by a number of researchers. The most extensively studied 2-pyridone degrader is the gram-positive bacterium Arthrobacter crystallopoietes, a member of the phylum actinomycetota. Numerous actinomycetotes have been shown to degrade pyridine or alkyl-, carboxyl-, or hydroxyl-substituted derivatives.
2-Pyridone degradation is commonly initiated by mono-oxygenase attack, resulting in a diol, such as 2,5-dihydroxypyridine, which is metabolized via the maleamate pathway. Fission of the ring proceeds via action of 2,5-dihydroxypyridine monooxygenase, which is also involved in metabolism of nicotinic acid via the maleamate pathway. In the case of Arthrobacter crystallopoietes, at least part of the degradative pathway is plasmid-borne.
1H-NMR (400 MHz, CD3OD): /ρ = 8.07 (dd,3J = 2.5 Hz,4J = 1.1 Hz, 1H, C-6), 7.98 (dd,3J = 4.0 Hz,3J = 2.0 Hz, 1H, C-3), 7.23 (dd,3J = 2.5 Hz,3J = 2.0 Hz, 1H, C-5), 7.21 (dd,3J = 4.0 Hz,4J = 1.0 Hz, 1H, C-4).
(100.57 MHz, CD3OD): ρ = 155.9 (C-2), 140.8 (C-4), 138.3 (C-6), 125.8 (C-3), 124.4 (C-5)
(MeOH):νmax (lg ε) = 226.2 (0.44), 297.6 (0.30).
(KBr): ν = 3440 cm−1–1 (br, m), 3119 (m), 3072 (m), 2986 (m), 1682 (s), 1649 (vs), 1609 (vs), 1578 (vs), 1540 (s), 1456 (m), 1433 (m), 1364 (w), 1243 (m), 1156 (m), 1098 (m), 983 (m), 926 (w), 781 (s), 730 (w), 612 (w), 560 (w), 554 (w), 526 (m), 476 (m), 451 (w).
EI-MS (70 eV): m/z (%) = 95 (100) [M+], 67 (35) [M+ - CO], 51 (4)[C4H3+].
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