Sodium borohydride → Tert-butyl 3,5-difluoro-4-(hydroxymethyl)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a stirred solution of tert-butyl 3,5-difluoro-4-formylbenzoate (21 g, 86.7 mmol) in MeOH was portionwise added NaBH4 (3.28 g, 86.7 mmol) at 0° C. After 20 min, the reaction mixture was evaporated in vacuo and the product was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried over MgSO4 and evaporated in vacuo. The residue was purified by flash column chromatography (Hex/EtOAc=4:1) to give tert-butyl 3,5-difluoro-4-(hydroxymethyl)benzoate (20.7 g, 97%) as a white solid.

Provenance & Evidence