Water → 2-(3-Hydroxyphenyl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of (3-methoxyphenyl)acetonitrile (150 g, 1.03 mol) in CH2Cl2 (1000 mL) was added BBr3 (774 g, 3.09 mol) dropwise at −70° C. The mixture was stirred and warmed to room temperature slowly. Water (300 mL) was added at 0° C. The resulting mixture was extracted with CH2Cl2. The combined organic layers were dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, filtered, and evaporated under vacuum. The crude residue was purified by column (Petroleum Ether/EtOAc 10:1) to give (3-hydroxyphenyl)acetonitrile (75.0 g, 55%). 1H NMR (CDCl3, 300 MHz) δ 7.18-7.24 (m, 1H), 6.79-6.84 (m, 3H), 3.69 (s, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence