Water → 2-Naphthol

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Sodium naphthalene-2-sulfonate (230 g) was suspended in 795 g of dibenzyltoluene, and 176 g of a 50% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide was added. The mixture was stirred under a nitrogen stream and heated to 300° C. to dehydrate it. The dehydrated mixture was stirred at 310° C. for 3 hours. After cooling, 1.2 liters of water was added to the reaction mixture to separate the reaction medium layer. The aqueous layer was decolorized with activated carbon and then precipitated with an acid to give 133.2 g (yield 92.5%) of 2-naphthol.

Provenance & Evidence