Nitric Acid → Phenol, 4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-nitro-

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Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Commercially available 4-t-butyl phenol (30 g, 0.2 mole) is dissolved in 200 ml ethyl acetate in a 500 ml round bottom flask fitted with a mechanical stirrer, and cooled to 0° C. The mixture is treated with nitric acid (13 ml, in 13 ml water) dropwise over 10 minutes and then a catalytic amount of NaNO2. After 45 minutes the reaction is washed with excess 1N HCl and the organic layer is dried over MgSO4 and stripped to yield 37 g of 2-nitro-4-t-butyl phenol. This nitrophenol (37 g, 0.19 mole) is dissolved in 100 ml ethyl acetate and placed into a parr bottle with a teaspoon of 10% Pd/C. The mixture is placed on a hydrogenator under 50 psi hydrogen with agitation for one hour. The catalyst is filtered off through celite, and the ethyl acetate is stripped off under vacuum. The material crystallizes with the addition of about 200 ml heptane to give 25.6 g of the corresponding amine (2-amino-4-t-butyl phenol).

Provenance & Evidence