Nitroethane → 2,4-Dihydroxybenzonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (5.0 g, 36.2 mmol), sodium acetate (5.94 g, 72.4 mmol), nitroethane (5.44 g, 72.4 mmol) and glacial acetic acid (10 ml) was refluxed for 6 hours. After cooling, the mixture was poured onto ice (100 g) and extracted with ethyl acetate (4×50 ml). The combined organic layers were washed with saturated NaHCO3 until the pH of the aqueous layer remained at 8, dried (Na2SO4) and the solvent removed in vacuo. Flash chromatography (SiO2cyclohexane:ethyl acetate=1:1) afforded 2,4-dihydroxybenzonitrile (2.87 g, 59%) as a pale yellow solid. 1H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 6.33 (d, 1H, J=8.6 Hz), 6.43 (s, 1H), 7.37 (d, 1H, J=8.6 Hz), 10.35 (s, 1H), 10.78 (s, 1H), IR (KBc) 2200 cm−1.

Provenance & Evidence