Potassium Carbonate → diethyl 1-(1-cyanoethyl)-1H-indole-2,6-dicarboxylate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of K2CO3 (7.93 g, 57.0 mmol) and 1H-indole-2,6-dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester (5.0 g, 19.14 mmol) in DMF (30 mL) was stirred at room temperature for 0.5 h. Then 2-bromo-propionitrile (3.4 mL, 38.3 mmol) in DMF (10 mL) was added. The reaction was warmed to 80° C. and kept at this temperature for 6 h. Then the reaction was cooled down to the room temperature. Most of the DMF solvent was removed in vacuo and the crude residue was extracted several times with EtOAc. The combined organic extracts were washed with brine, dried over MgSO4 and concentrated. The crude product was triturated with MeCN to give 3.9 g of 1-(cyano-methyl-methyl)-1H-indole-2,6-dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester as a white fluffy solid. The filtrate was concentrated and purification by silica gel chromatography provided 1.6 g of 1-(cyano-methyl-methyl)-1H-indole-2,6-dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester, yield 91%.

Provenance & Evidence