Boron trifluoride etherate → 2-(5-Phenyloxazol-2-yl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

BF3.Et2O (1.1 mL, 8.5 mmol) was added dropwise to a solution of malononitrile (2.26 g, 34.2 mmol) in dry CH2Cl2 (20 mL) at 0° C., followed by addition of 2-diazo-1-phenylethanone (0.5 g, 3.4 mmol) in DCM (5 mL). The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h and then quenched with aqueous 10% NaOH solution. The organic product was extracted with EtOAc and the combined extracts were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by column chromatography (silica 60-120 mesh, eluant 5-10% EtOAc in petroleum ether) to get 2-(5-phenyloxazol-2-yl)acetonitrile (200 mg, yield 32%) as a brown solid. 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.66-7.63 (m, 2H), 7.47-7.38 (m, 3H), 7.32 (s, 1H), 4.02 (s, 2H). MS (ESI) m/z: Calculated for C11H8N2O: 184.06. found: 185.2 (M+H)+.

Provenance & Evidence