Sodium borohydride → 4-(Hydroxymethyl)thiophene-2-carbonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

3.47 g (91.8 mmol) of sodium borohydride were added, a little at a time, to a suspension of 12.6 g (91.8 mmol) of 2-cyano-4-formylthiophene in 200 ml of ethanol and stirred at room temperature for 2 hours, during which process the reaction mixture slowly formed a clear solution. After concentration in vacuo, the residue was taken up in ethyl acetate, washed in succession with saturated sodium chloride solution, 5% strength citric acid and saturated sodium chloride solution, and the organic phase was dried using sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo. 11.7 g of almost pure product resulted (yield 91.5%).

Provenance & Evidence