Aluminium lithium hydride → 3-(4-Hydroxymethyl-2,6-dimethyl-phenyl)-propan-1-ol

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Reaction Steps

To a suspension of LiAlH4 (219 mg, 5.76 mmol) in THF (35 mL), a solution of 3-(4-hydroxymethyl-2,6-dimethyl-phenyl)-propionic acid (1.0 g, 4.80 mmol, intermediate from Aldehyde 4) in THF (10 mL) is added dropwise. Upon complete addition the suspension is refluxed for 2 h. The suspension is diluted with THF (10 mL) and another portion of LiAlH4 (182 mg, 4.80 mmol) is added. The mixture is refluxed for further two hours, then cooled with an ice-bath. The reaction is carefully quenched by adding sat. aq. NH4Cl solution (2 mL) followed by 2 N aq. HCl until a clear solution forms. The mixture is diluted with water and extracted twice with EA. The combined organic extracts are dried over MgSO4, filtered and the solvent of the filtrate is evaporated to leave 3-(4-hydroxymethyl-2,6-dimethyl-phenyl)-propan-1-ol (920 mg) as a colourless crystalline solid; LC-MS: tR=0.70 min, [M+1−H2O]+=177.20.

Provenance & Evidence