N-bromobutanimide → Methyl 2-bromo-2-(3-methoxyphenyl)acetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of (3-methoxy-phenyl)-acetic acid methyl ester (19.6 mmol) in CCl4 was added N-bromosuccinimide (19.6 mmol) and the reaction mixture was irradiated for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was then concentrated in vacuo to afford the intermediate bromo-(3-methoxy-phenyl)-acetic acid methyl ester. To a solution of bromo-(3-methoxy-phenyl)-acetic acid methyl ester in THF (30 mL) under an atmosphere of nitrogen was added a solution of (2-amino-ethyl)-carbamic acid tert-butyl ester (20.6 mmol) in THF (20 mL) followed by K2CO3 (39.2 mmol, 2 equivalents). The reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature. The reaction mixture was partitioned between water (50 mL) and EtOAc (2×50 mL), the combined organics were dried (sodium sulfate) and concentrated in vacuo to afford an oil. The oil was purified by silica gel column chromatography using as eluent EtOAc:petrol (1:1) to give the title compound as an oil in 53% yield.

Provenance & Evidence