Benzoyl Peroxide → (5-Bromomethyl-2-cyano-phenyl) acetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of (2-cyano-5-methyl-phenyl) acetate (0.72 g, 4.11 mmol) in CCl4 (10 mL) was added recrystallized N-bromosuccinimide (0.767 g, 4.31 mmol) followed by benzoyl peroxide (56 mg, 0.23 mmol). The resultant mixture was heated to reflux for 2.5 hours then cooled to room temperature. The mixture was diluted with diethyl ether (50 mL), filtered through filter paper, and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification of the crude material by column chromatography (6:1 hexanes-EtOAc) provided 0.31 g (30%) of (5-bromomethyl-2-cyano-phenyl) acetate as a colorless oil. 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ2.40 (s, 3H), 4.45 (s, 2H), 7.33 (s, 1H), 7.35 (d, 1H, J=9 Hz), 7.65 (d, 1H, J=9 Hz).

Provenance & Evidence