Sodium Trifluoroacetate → 5-Chloro-1-methylindole

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 5-chloro-2-iodo-1-methylindole obtained from Example 3 (16.5 g, 56.6 mmole), sodium trifluoroacetate (76.2 g, 56.0 mmole) and copper (I) iodide (10.6 g, 56.0 mmole) in N-methylpyrrolidone is heated at 160° C. for about 8 hours, cooled to room temperature, diluted with water and filtered through diatomaceous earth. The filtrate is extracted with diethyl ether. The extracts are combined, washed with water, dried over MgSO4 and concentrated in vacuo to give a black oil residue. The residue is chromatographed using silica gel and 15:1 hexanes:ethyl acetate to give a yellow oil. The oil is chromatographed a second time using the same eluent and silica gel to give the title product as a yellow oil, 2.92 g (22% overall yield from 5-chloro-1-methylindole), identified by IR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR and 19FNMR analyses.

Provenance & Evidence