Iodine → 1,1-Di(p-tolyl)ethylene

Participants

Reaction Steps

Into a 1-liter reaction flask were introduced in a nitrogen stream 15.6 g (0.65 mol) of magnesium and 20 ml of THF. Slight amounts of ethyl iodide and iodine were added thereto to initiate reaction. A solution of 111.15 g (0.65 mol) of p-bromotoluene in 500 ml of THF was then added dropwise at room temperature to 40° C. over a period of 2 hours to prepare a Grignard reagent. Thereto was added dropwise a solution of 83.75 g (0.625 mol) of p-methylacetophenone (10a) in 200 ml of THF at that temperature over a period of 3 hours. This mixture was stirred first at room temperature for 3 hours and then with refluxing for 4 hours. The resulting reaction mixture was cooled and poured into 1 liter of 5% aqueous sulfuric acid solution to conduct hydrolysis. This mixture was extracted with toluene, and the extract was washed with aqueous soda ash solution and then with water and concentrated. Thereto were added 300 ml of toluene and 0.5 g of PTSA. The resulting mixture was stirred with refluxing for 4 hours to conduct azeotropic dehydration, followed by washing with aqueous soda ash solution, washing with water, and concentration. The resulting crude 1,1-di(p-tolyl)ethylene (9b) was distilled with a Claisen flask equipped with a vigreux, giving 98.5 g of the desired compound.

Provenance & Evidence