Methyl iodide → 3-Fluoro-4-nitroanisole

Participants

Reaction Steps

A 2 L round bottom flask equipped with a stir bar and reflux condenser was charged with acetonitrile (1 L), K2CO3 (263 g, 1.9 mol) and 4-hydroxy-2-fluoro-1-nitrobenzene (100 g, 0.64 mol). Methyl iodide (271 g, 1.9 mol) was added to the reaction mixture and heated at reflux temperatures with vigorous stirring for 5 h. The acetonitrile was removed and ethyl acetate (1 L) and H2O (700 mL) were added. The heterogeneous mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel where the aqueous phase was separated and re-extracted with ethyl acetate (2×200 mL). The organic phases were combined and washed with H2O (2×500 mL), brine (500 mL), dried over MgSO4, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the desired product as a slightly yellow solid (107 g, 98%).

Provenance & Evidence