4,4,4-Trinitro-1-butanol → 4,4-Dinitrobutan-1-ol

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Reaction Steps

This alcohol was prepared by stirring 4,4,4-trinitro-1-butanol (554 g, 2.65 mol) in methanol (6 l) with KI (1426 g, 8.6 mol) for 6 days at room temperature. The precipitated potassium salt was filtered, suspended in water (4 L), acidified with concentrated HCl (250 ml), and extracted into CH2Cl2 (6×500 ml). The extracts were washed with 10% NaHSO3 (1000 ml). The solution was dried over anhydrous MgSO4 and concentrated to give the product (220 g, 51%) as a yellow oil. The infrared spectrum had peaks at 3450, 2950, 1575, 1340, and 1070 cm-1.

Provenance & Evidence