Potassium Cyanide → Methyl [4-(cyanomethyl)phenyl]acetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a stirring solution of 15 in dimethylformamide (0.3 M) at room temperature under nitrogen was added potassium cyanide (1.2 eq). The reaction was stirred at room temperature overnight. The reaction was diluted with H2O then extracted with ethyl acetate (3×). The organic phases were combined, washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate (1×), brine (1×), dried over sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated in vacuo to afford the product. (26%) 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.30 (s, 4H), 3.74 (s, 2H), 3.70 (s, 3H) 3.64 (s, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence