Sodium Cyanide → 2-(2-Bromo-4-chlorophenyl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 2-bromo-1-(bromomethyl)-4-chlorobenzene (9.8 g; 34.5 mmol) and sodium cyanide (2.0 g; 41.4 mmol) in 15 mL of 95% ethanol and 2.5 mL water was stirred and heated to reflux. After 30 minutes, the solvent was evaporated and the residue was partitioned between 100 mL ether and 50 mL water. The organic layer was dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated. The residual solid was washed out of the flask with hexane and collected by filtration, washed with hexane, and air-dried on the filter to give 4.82 g of 2-(2-bromo-4-chlorophenyl)acetonitrile as a light yellow solid.

Provenance & Evidence