Hydrochloric Acid → (4-(Trifluoromethyl)benzyl)malononitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

First, 4.44 g of (4-(trifluoromethyl)benzylidene)malononitrile was dissolved in 20 ml of ethanol, and while stirring at room temperature, a suspension of 0.19 g of sodium borohydride in 5 ml of ethanol was added dropwise, followed by stirring at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then, 10% hydrochloride acid was added to the reaction mixture, which became acidic and was extracted with diethyl ether. The organic layer was successively washed with 10% hydrochloric acid, a saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography to give 2.30 g of (4-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl)malononitrile (the intermediate (4)).

Provenance & Evidence