Acetic Acid → Benzenemethanol, 2-(dimethylamino)-

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Reaction Steps

In a 250 mL round-bottomed flask, (3-(dimethylamino)phenyl)methanol (1 g) and paraformaldehyde (2.5 g) were added to acetic acid (150 mL) to give a suspension. Sodium cyanoborohydride (2.6 g) was added slowly. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. After concentration of the solvent, water and ethyl acetate (1:1, 100 mL) were added. After separation, the aqueous layer was extracted by ethyl acetate (2×20 mL). The combined organic layers were washed with water (3×50 mL), saturated aqueous NaHCO3 (2×30 mL), and dried over Na2SO4. After filtration and concentration, the residue was taken up into CH2Cl2 and the product was purified by flash chromatography (Varian, Superflash SF40-80 g column), eluting with 0-20% methanol/dichloromethane, to provide the title compound.

Provenance & Evidence