The general procedure for the synthesis of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-piperazine acetamide from piperazine hexahydrate and 2,6-dimethylchloroacetanilide was as follows: 58.3 g (0.3 mol) of piperazine hexahydrate was dissolved in 230 ml of ethanol, followed by the addition of 50.0 g (0.25 mol) of 2-chloro-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)acetamide. The reaction mixture was heated under reflux conditions for 3 hours until the reaction was complete. After completion of the reaction, the mixture was cooled to room temperature and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure followed by addition of 80 ml of water. The mixture was extracted with water and dichloromethane, and after separation of the organic layer, it was concentrated under vacuum at 60 °C to give 39.4 g of N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-piperazine acetamide in 63% yield. The product was characterized by 1HNMR (CDCl3): δ 2.23-2.27 (s, 6H), 2.67 (s, 4H), 2.96-2.98 (t, 4H), 3.19-3.21 (s, 2H), 7.08-7.26 (m, 3H), 8.69 (s, 1H).
