Methyl iodide → 5Methyl-2-trimethylsilyl-4-furaldehyde

Participants

Reaction Steps

n-Butyl lithium (a 1.6 M solution in hexane; 2.04 ml, 3.28 mmol) was added dropwise to a solution of N,N'N'-trimethylethylenediamine (0.46 ml, 3.56 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (7 ml) at -78 degrees under argon. After 15 minutes, a solution of 2-trimethylsilyl-4-furaldehyde (0.5 g, 2.98 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (2 ml) was added, followed by n-butyl lithium (3.72 ml, 5.94 mmol) after 15 minutes. Iodomethane (1.12 ml, 17.9 mmol) was then added and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature gradually over 1/2 hour. The mixture was quenched with brine and extracted with ethyl ether. Evaporation of the dried (magnesium sulphate) extracts gave an oil, which was purified by flash chromatography using 10% ethyl ether/hexane. Fractions with Rf of about 0.22 on evaporation afforded the title methylfuran as a light yellow oil.

Provenance & Evidence