Methyl 4-Formylbenzoate → Methyl 4-(1-hydroxybutyl)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A solution of methyl 4-formylbenzoate (2.092 g, 12.74 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (50 mL) was cooled to 0° C. To this solution was added n-propylmagnesium bromide (6.4 mL, 2.0M in THF) dropwise over 20 minutes. The reaction was stirred at 0° C. for 2 hours. The reaction was then quenched by addition of saturated ammonium chloride. This mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate twice. The organics were dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated. Purification by column chromatography (0-40% ethyl acetate in heptanes) gave (+/−)-methyl 4-(1-hydroxybutyl)benzoate (1.252 g, 47%) as a colorless oil. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, δ): 7.97-8.02 (m, 2H), 7.40 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 4.74 (dd, J=7.8, 5.7 Hz, 1H), 3.90 (s, 3H), 1.61-1.82 (m, 2H), 1.23-1.49 (m, 2H), 0.92 (t, J=7.32 Hz, 3H).

Provenance & Evidence