Sodium Cyanide → 2-(3-Bromo-4-fluorophenyl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a stirred solution of 3-bromo-4-fluorobenzyl methanesulfonate (60 g, 0.212 mol) in DMF (300 mL) at 0° C. was added NaCN (31.1 g, 0.635 mol, 3 eq) portionwise. After stirring at room temperature 4 h, the reaction mixture was partitioned in EtOAc and water. The organic layer was dried over MgSO4 and evaporated in vacuo. The residue was purified by column chromatography (Hex/EtOAc=4:1) to give 2-(3-bromo-4-fluorophenyl)acetonitrile (30 g, 3 step overall yield: 55%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.56-7.54 (m, 1H), 7.28-7.24 (m, 1H), 7.14 (t, J=4.4 Hz, 1H), 3.73 (s, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence