Terephthalaldehyde → 4-(Hydroxymethyl)benzaldehyde

Participants

Reaction Steps

First, 2.06 g of terephthalaldehyde and 20 ml of ethanol were placed in a reaction vessel, to which 0.15 g of sodium borohydride was slowly added with stirring under ice cooling. After stirring at room temperature for 12 hours, the ethanol was evaporated. The residue was poured into diluted hydrochloric acid, and extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed twice with water, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and concentrated to give a crude product. This crude product was subjected to silica gel chromatography, which afforded 1.06 g (yield, 51%) of p-(hydroxymethyl)benzaldehyde.

Provenance & Evidence