Methanol → (4-Bromo-2-methoxyphenyl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of potassium tert-butoxide (6.5 g, 0.058 mol) in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (150 mL) was added p-toluenesulfonylmethyl isocyanide (5.6 g, 0.029 mol) portionwise at −78° C. Then a solution of 4-bromo-2-methoxybenzaldehyde (6.3 g, 0.029 mol) in 1,2-dimethoxyethane was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was warmed to room temperature. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour and methanol (150 mL) was added, then heated to reflux and stirred for 2 hours. Solvent was evaporated, and saturated ammonium chloride (100 mL) was added and extracted with ethyl acetate (100 mL×2). The organic layers were combined, dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give a residue, which was purified by combiflash (Petroleum ether/EtOAc=10:1 to 5:1) to give the title compound (5.4 g, 82%) as a light yellow solid. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.25 (d, 1H), 7.12 (d, 1H), 7.03 (s, 1H), 3.87 (s, 3H), 3.63 (s, 2H)

Provenance & Evidence