Hydrogen Bromide → 3-Bromo-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoic acid

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Reaction Steps

To a stirred mixture of 3-amino-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoic acid (Matrix Scientific, 2.05 g, 10 mmol) in aqueous HBr (48% in water, 20 mL) and H2O (67 mL) at 0° C. is added NaNO2 (0.828 g) in small portions over 15 min. After stirring the solution for 30 minutes the mixture is added dropwise to a solution of CuBr (2.5 g) in aqueous HBr (48% in water, 40 mL) and H2O (100 mL). The mixture is stirred at 75° C. for 2 hours, then room temperature for 16 hours. The mixture is treated with 20% NaOH to raise the pH above 10 and then filtered through celite. The resulting solution is acidified with 6 M HCl to pH 1 and extracted with dichloromethane (3×100 mL). Organic layers are collected, dried over Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated to give 3-bromo-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoic acid (2.30 g, 85.5% yield). LCMS m/z=269.1, 271.1 [M+H]+.

Provenance & Evidence