Toluene → Ethyl phenylcyanoacetate

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Reaction Steps

A 30-ml four-necked flask was equipped with a stirrer, a thermometer and a reflux condenser. 0.022 g (0.1 mmol) of palladium (II) acetate, 2.459 g (15 mmol) of sodium phosphate and 15 ml of toluene were weighed in the flask, followed by stirring. Further, 0.105 g (0.2 mmol) of tri-tert-butylphosphonium tetraphenylborate obtained in Example A-1 was weighed in air and added into the flask. The flask was purged with argon, followed by stirring at 25° C. for 30 minutes. 0.563 g (5 mmol) of chlorobenzene was added, followed by stirring at 25° C. for 30 minutes. 0.622 g (5.5 mmol) of ethyl cyanoacetate was added, followed by stirring at 100° C. for 12 hours. After the completion of the reaction, 5 ml of water was added, followed by separation. The organic phase was purified by column chromatography to afford 0.501 g of ethyl-2-phenylcyanoacetate (yield: 53 mol % based on chlorobenzene). The identification of the product was made by mass spectroscopy, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR.

Provenance & Evidence