Hydrochloric Acid → 3-(4-Nitrophenyl)propionitrile

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Propionitrile (32 mL), diisopropylethylamine (2.5 g, 19.58 mmol) were added to a mixture of 4-nitrobenzyl alcohol (1 g, 6.53 mmol) and (cyanomethyl)trimethylphosphonium iodide (4 g, 16.32 mmol). The mixture was heated at 97° C. for 24 h. Water (1 mL) was added to the mixture and followed by conc. HCl (5 mL). Ethyl acetate (3×100 mL) was used to extract the product. Organic layer was washed with brine, dried with sodium sulfate, concentrated to give dark brown solid. The crude product was purified by flash column chromatography (Ethyl acetate: Hexanes 1:1) to give 740 mg of 3-(4-nitrophenyl)propionitrile as a light orange solid. 1H NMR (DMSO-d6): δ 8.20-8.17 (dd, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 7.59-7.56 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 3.06-3.01 (m, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence