Water → 2-Cyanophenylboronic acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Dissolve 2-bromobenzonitrile (melt in water bath at 65° C. before use, 6.733 kg, 37.0 mol, 1 eq) in THF (52.5 L) in a cryogenic reactor and cool to −78° C. Add triisopropylborate (13.96 kg, 74 mol, 2 eq). Allow the mixture to cool to −78° C. again. Add hexyllithium (2.5M in hexane, 15.38 kg, 55.5 mol, 1.5 eq) over a period of 2 h (max internal temp=69° C.). After the addition, stir for 1 h at −75° C. Add the mixture (−74° C.) to water (48 L, 5° C.) over a period of 15 min with stirring to give a slightly yellow emulsion (−1° C.). Warm the mixture to 23° C. and stir at this temperature for 90 min. Separate the layers. Extract the aqueous layer with isopropyl acetate (24 L). Combine the organic layers and re-extract with brine (22 L). Combine the aqueous layers and acidify to pH 1 with 1M sulfuric acid (31 L). Extract the product twice with isopropyl acetate (41 L and 39 L). Combine the organic layers and stir overnight with brine (21 L) at 2° C. Collect the organic solution (90 L) and distill under reduced pressure at 50-60° C. to reduce the volume to 10 L. Strip the suspension with isopropyl acetate (11 L). Add methylcyclohexane (20 L) at 25° C. Cool the suspension to -7° C. Collect the precipitated product by filtration. Wash the filter cake with a mixture of isopropyl acetate (2 L) and methylcyclohexane (4 L). Dry the filter cake on the rotovap at reduced pressure at 50° C. to obtain 2.997 kg of title compound as a white powder; 55% yield (poor yield due to some material sticking to the reactor wall). 1H NMR (solvent-dx): § 7.53 (dt, 1H, J=1.5 Hz, 7.5 Hz), 7.62 (dt, 1H, J=1.5 Hz, 7.5 Hz), 7.73 (m, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence