Final answer:
The dissolution of an imine in an ethanolic solution represents its chemical transformation into an amine, involving hydrolysis and the regeneration of the carbonyl and lysine residue into a carbinolamine.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the reduction of an imine to an amine, the imine initially dissolves in the ethanolic solution as it reacts. This dissolution represents the hydrolysis step, where the water breaks the multiple bonds, and the imine is converted into the amine through a series of steps that regenerate the original carbonyl and lysine residue as a new carbinolamine.
Following a similar chemical behavior to carboxylic acids, which react with amines to form amides with water loss, the imine's reactivity in an ethanolic solution is pivotal for this transformation. Furthermore, the comparative stability and basicity of imines, due to their less polar C=N bond compared to C=O, is a significant factor in this reduction process.
Amides are typically formed when an amine-containing molecule reacts with a carboxylic acid-containing molecule, with the expulsion of a water molecule and the subsequent bonding of the amine nitrogen to the carboxyl carbon. Thus, as an imine dissolves in an ethanolic solution, it undergoes chemical transformations that ultimately lead to the formation of an amine.