Into an 8-mL sealed tube, was placed a solution of methyl 3-chloro-2-phenylquinoxaline-6-carboxylate (150 mg, 0.50 mmol, 1.00 equiv), (R)-pyrrolidin-2-ylmethanol (150 mg, 1.49 mmol, 3.00 equiv), and potassium carbonate (345 mg, 2.50 mmol, 5.00 equiv) in Tol/DMSO (2.5/0.5 mL). The resulting mixture was stirred overnight at 100° C. The residue was purified by silica gel chromatography with ethyl acetate/petroleum ether (1:50). This resulted in 120 mg (63%) of (R)-methyl 3-(2-(hydroxymethyl)pyrrolidin-1-yl)-2-phenylquinoxaline-6-carboxylate as a yellow solid.
