Nitric Acid → 2-Isopropyl-4-nitrophenol

To a solution of 2-isopropylphenol (4.1 ml) in acetic acid (30 ml) was added 69% nitric acid (4 ml) in an ice bath and the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 30 minutes. After addition of iced water, the reaction mixture was extracted with t-butyl methyl ether. The extractant was washed with water and brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by chromatography on a silica gel column using hexane/ethyl acetate=4/1 as an eluant to give the desired compound (2.66 g, yield 49%) as a yellow solid.