Chloromethyl Methyl Ether → 2-Fluoro-3-(methoxymethoxy)pyridine

Participants

Reaction Steps

2-Fluoropyridin-3-ol (55 g, 486 mmol) and cesium carbonate (158 g, 486 mmol) were suspended in ACN (400 mL). A solution of chloromethyl methyl ether (40 mL, 527 mmol) in dry tetrahydrofuran (50 mL) was added dropwise via an addition funnel. After 1 hour additional MOM-Cl (5 mL) was added and the reaction stirred for another 2 h. The reaction was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between diethyl ether (400 mL) and water (500 mL). The organic was washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate (100 mL) then dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The crude was purified using silica chromatography (hexane to 1:1 hexane:DCM gradient) to give the desired 2-fluoro-3-(methoxymethoxy)pyridine (53.5 g, 340 mmol, 70.0% yield).

Provenance & Evidence