Triethanolamine → 1-Ethenyl-4-nitrobenzene

Participants

Reaction Steps

A 500 ml 3-neck round bottom flask was fitted with a thermometer and steam distillation apparatus. The flask was charged with 12.5 g (0.054 mol) of 4-nitrophenethyl bromide, 75 ml (0.565 mol) of triethanolamine and 50 ml of water. The reaction mixture was heated to reflux and the mixture was allowed to slowly steam distill. Approximately 100 mg of hydroquinone was added to the distillate collected in order to prevent polymerization. The distillate was extracted three times with diethyl ether and the combined organic phases were washed with water, 1N hydrochloric acid, water, and a saturated sodium chloride solution in sequence. The organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure to provide 7.193 g of 4-nitrostyrene as an oil which solidified upon cooling. Additional quantities of this material were prepared by the general procedure above.

Provenance & Evidence