Formaldehyde → 2-(4H-benzo[d][1,3]dioxin-7-yl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of (3-hydroxyphenyl)acetonitrile (75.0 g, 0.56 mol) in toluene (750 mL) was added paraformaldehyde (84.0 g, 2.80 mol) and toluene-4-sulfonic acid monohydrate (10.7 g, 56.0 mmol) at room temperature. The reaction mixture was heated at reflux for 40 minutes. Toluene was removed by evaporation. Water (150 mL) and ethyl acetate (150 mL) were added. The organic layer was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate. The combined organics were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and evaporated under vacuum. The residue was separated by preparative HPLC to give 2-(4H-benzo[d][1,3]dioxin-7-yl)acetonitrile (4.7 g, 5%). 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ 6.85-6.98 (m, 3H), 5.25 (d, J=3.0 Hz, 2H), 4.89 (s, 2H), 3.69 (s, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence