Carbon tetrabromide → [3-(Bromomethyl)phenyl]acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To an ice-cold solution of (3-hydroxymethylphenyl)acetonitrile (0.97 g, 7.3 mmol) in THF (35 mL) was added CBr4 (2.5 g, 7.7 mmol) and Ph3P (2.0 g, 7.7 mmol), and the reaction mixture was stirred for 3 h. The reaction mixture was filtered, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification by flash column chromatography (silica, eluent 1:9 to 1:4 EtOAc/hexanes) provided (3-bromomethylphenyl)acetonitrile as a clear oil (0.89 g, 58%): 1H NMR (300 MHz, MeOD) δ 7.47-7.29 (m, 1H), 7.27 (s, 1H), 6.97-6.82 (m, 1H), 4.87 (s, 2H), 3.91 (s, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence