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 3 M 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 1 M 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 1 M hydrochloric acid (125 mL)