A solution of diethyl azodicarboxylate (871 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (4 ml) was added slowly to a stirred solution of (1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-5-methoxy-2-naphthyl)methanol (961 mg), phthalimide (736 mg), and triphenyiphosphine (1.31 g) in tetrahydrofuran (10 ml) at room temperature and the resulting mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 24 hours. The reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo and the residue was chromatographed (toluene) over silica gel. The eluate was evaporated in vacuo and the residue was triturated with n-hexane to afford N-[(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-5-methoxy-2-naphthyl)methyl]phthalimide (888 mg) as a colorless powder. mp: 143°-144° C.
