Potassium Cyanide → 2-(2-broMo-6-chlorophenyl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of 31.3 g of the crude 6-chloro-alpha,2-dibromotoluene in 100 ml of warm ethanol is treated with a solution of 6.7 g of potassium cyanide in 10 ml of water and the mixture is heated at reflux for 4 hours. The crude product is isolated by pouring the cooled reaction mixture into water and filtering the resulting precipitate. Recrystallization of this solid from aqueous ethanol then gives 12.4 g of 2-bromo-6-chlorophenylacetonitrile, mp 82°-84° C.

Provenance & Evidence