Ammonium Chloride → (R)-1-(3-Chlorophenyl)-1,2-ethanediol

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Reaction Steps

At 0-5° C., sodium borohydride (2.3 g, 60.80 mmol, 2.50 equiv) was added in several batches to a solution of (R)-Methyl 2-(3-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxyacetate (5 g, 24.92 mmol, 1.00 equiv.) in methanol (50 mL). The resulting solution was stirred at ambient temperature for about 2 hours, and then 10% ammonium chloride (20 mL) was added. The mixture was concentrated in vacuo, and extracted with ethyl acetate (3×50 mL). The organic layers were combined and concentrated in vacuo to give the title product as a colorless oil (4 g; yield=93%). 1H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ: 7.26-7.39 (m, 4H), 5.40 (d, J=1.5 Hz, 1H), 4.77 (t, J=5.7 Hz, 1H), 4.54 (q, J=5.7 Hz, 1H), 3.48 (m, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence