Ammonia → Methyl 2-(2-cyanovinyl)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Methyl 2-formylbenzoate (10 g, 60.9 mmol) was dissolved in toluene (200 mL). (Triphenylphosphoranylidene)acetonitrile (20.19 g, 67.0 mmol) was then added to the mixture. The reaction was heated at 110° C. for 20 hours, then cooled to room temperature, concentrated under vacuum and the residue was triturated with ether (2×). The ether solution was passed though a plug of silica gel to provide Example 1A (mixture of E and Z isomers). The mixture of E and Z isomers was used directly for the next step. MS (DCI+) m/z 205.0 [M+NH3]+.

Provenance & Evidence