3.0 g of 3-nitro-4-methoxybenzaldehyde, 3.4 g of 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetonitrile, 800 mg of sodium hydroxide and 100 mg of octylmethylammonium chloride were dissolved in 15 ml of water and 15 ml of dichloromethane and reacted for 4 hours at room temperature. Ice water was added to the reaction liquid, which was then extracted three times each with dichloromethane. The extract was dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated. The concentrated liquid was purified by crystallization (ethyl acetate) to obtain 4.4 g of the intended compound. The yield was 72%.
