The gabriel amine synthesis is a method for preparing a primary amine from an alkyl halide. the reaction involves the alkylation of phthalimide. in phthalimide, the n-h hydrogen is acidic due to the two flanking carbonyl groups. thus, phthalimide can be deprotonated by a strong base. the resulting anion is a strong nucleophile and readily displaces halide in an sn2 reaction, leading to an n-alkylated imide. the imide is then hydrolyzed in aqueous base to yield the primary amine and phthalate. draw curved arrows to show the movement of electrons in this step of the mechanism