Sodium Azide → Ethyl 4-azidomethylsalicylate

Ethyl 4-bromomethylsalicylate (4.8 g, 18.6 mmoles) was dissolved in dry N,N-di-methylformamide (50 mL) and sodium azide (1.2 g, 18.9 mmoles) was added. The suspension was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was then diluted with dichloromethane (150 mL) and extracted with 1N aqueous hydrochloric acid (100 mL), water (100 mL), and saturated aqueous sodium chloride (50 mL). Finally, the solution was then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, filtered, and evaporated to dryness to give ethyl 4-azidomethylsalicylate as an oil.