Acetonitrile → 2-Biphenylacetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

2-(Bromomethyl)biphenyl (1.35 g, 5.48 mmol), potassium cyanide (368 mg, 5.65 mmol), and a catalytic amount of 18-crown-6 ether were added to acetonitrile (10 ml), and the mixture was heated under reflux for 5 days. The reaction mixture was added with water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract was washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and saturated brine, and dried over magnesium sulfate. Insoluble solids were removed by filtration, and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure. The resulting oil was purified by silica gel column chromatography (ethyl acetate-hexane) to obtain the title compound as colorless solid (1.07 g, yield: quantitative).

Provenance & Evidence