Methyl 4-Formylbenzoate → Methyl 4-(hydroxy(phenyl)methyl)benzoate
Reaction equation
[C:1]1([Mg]Br)[CH:6]=[CH:5][CH:4]=[CH:3][CH:2]=1.[CH:9]([C:11]1[CH:20]=[CH:19][C:14]([C:15]([O:17][CH3:18])=[O:16])=[CH:13][CH:12]=1)=[O:10]>>[OH:10][CH:9]([C:11]1[CH:12]=[CH:13][C:14]([C:15]([O:17][CH3:18])=[O:16])=[CH:19][CH:20]=1)[C:1]1[CH:6]=[CH:5][CH:4]=[CH:3][CH:2]=1Participants
3
Procedure
Under a nitrogen atmosphere phenyl magnesium bromide (39 mL of 3M in ether) was added via a syringe over a period of 30 minutes to a solution of methyl 4-formylbenzoate (19.2 g, 117 mmol). The mixture was allowed to stir for an additional 10 minutes and then it was quenched by the addition of 1M hydrochloric acid (125 mL). The reaction mixture was extracted with diethyl ether (2×200 mL). The combined extracts were washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and then concentrated under vacuum to provide a yellow oil. This material was purified by flash chromatography (silica gel eluting with 6:1 hexanes:ethyl acetate) to provide 6.9 g of methyl 4-(α-hydroxybenzyl)benzoate as a clear oil.
Workup
- customit was quenched by the addition of 1M hydrochloric acid (125 mL)