Sodium Carbonate → Methyl 3-cyano-2-methylbenzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a flask was added methyl 3-bromo-2-methylbenzoate (21 g, 91.7 mmol), potassium hexacyanoferrate (II) trihydrate (9.7 g, 22.9 mmol), Na2CO3 (9.7 g, 91.7 mmol) and Pd(OAc)2 (102 mg) in N,N-dimethylacetamide (100 mL). The flask's atmosphere was evacuated and replaced with nitrogen, and the reaction mixture heated at 120° C. for 10 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and diluted with ethyl acetate (150 mL). The resultant slurry was filtered and washed thoroughly with ethyl acetate (2×50 mL). The combined filtrate was washed with brine and water, dried over Na2SO4 and evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue obtained after the concentration was purified using flash chromatography (ethyl acetate-hexanes (1:9) as the eluent) to provide methyl 3-cyano-2-methylbenzoate (11.2 g, 70% yield). 1H NMR spectrum (in DMSO-d6): δ 8.03 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H); 7.98 (d, J=7.9 Hz, 1H); 7.49 (t, 1H); 3.84 (s, 3H); 2.65 (s, 3H).

Provenance & Evidence