Hydrochloric Acid → Ethyl 5-cyano-2-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-imidazole-4-carboxylate

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Reaction Steps

A mixture of 2-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-4,5-dicyanoimidazole (3.3 g, 0.01 mol), ethanol (10 ) and concentrated hydrochloric acid (10 ml) was stirred and heated at reflux for 24 hours. After cooling the mixture was poured into water (50 ml) and extracted with dichloromethane (2×50 ml). The combined extracts were washed with water (50 ml), dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and evaporated to dryness. The residue was purified by mplc on silica eluted with a mixture of ethyl acetate and petroleum spirit (b.p. 60°-80° C.) (1:1) to give ethyl 5-cyano-2-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-imidazole-4-carboxylate (0.35 g) m.p. 180°-181° C., after recrystallisation from a mixture of toluene and petroleum spirit (b.p. 60°-80° C.) (1:2), as a white solid.

Provenance & Evidence