Following a procedure similar to that described in Example 36(a), 456 mg of 2-[2-(3-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]phenol (prepared as described in Preparation 20), 600 mg of 1-t-butoxycarbonyl-4-hydroxypiperidine and 865 mg of triphenylphosphine were reacted with 575 mg of diethyl azodicarboxylate in 30 ml of methylene chloride. The reaction mixture was worked up as described in Example 6(a), and the crude product thus obtained was purified by column chromatography through silica gel, using a 4:1 by volume mixture of hexane and ethyl acetate as the eluent, to give 379 mg (yield 46%) of the title compound as a colorless oil.
