Phenol → 4-Chloro-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)butan-1-one

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a cold boron trifluoride etherate (280 mmol) solution was added 3-fluorophenol or phenol (89 mmol) and 4-chlorobutyryl chloride (178 mmol). The resulting solution was stirred at 130° C. for 18 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled and poured into ice water (100 mL). After stirring for 10 minutes, the water mixture was extracted with ether (3×100 mL). The ether layer was washed with brine (100 mL), dried over MgSO4, filtered and concentrated to a residue to afford 4-chloro-1-(4-fluoro-2-hydroxyphenyl)butan-1-one and 4-chloro-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)butan-1-one in 52%–67% yield, which was used in the following step without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence