7-Nitro-1-tetralone → 1-Methylene-7-nitro-tetralin

Participants

Reaction Steps

7-Nitro-1-tetralone (1.00 g, 5.23 mmol) was dissolved in dry THF (5 mL) and added to a solution of methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (2.00 g, 5.60 mmol) and n-butyllithium (2.5 M in hexanes, 2.2 mL, 5.5 mmol) in THF (10 mL) cooled by an ice water bath. The mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred overnight. It was poured into ice water (45 mL) and extracted with EtOAc (3×20 mL). The extract was washed with NaCl solution, dried (MgSO4), filtered and concentrated to give a black solid (1.504 g). It was dissolved in CHCl3 and flash chromatographed over silica gel (65 g) eluting with EtOAc/hexane (1:20) to afford a white solid (263 mg, 27% yield): mp 45-47° C.

Provenance & Evidence