Iodine → tert-Butyl 3-(hydroxymethyl)azetidine-1-carboxylate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a stirred suspension of sodium borohydride (1.92 g, 50.6 mmol) in dry THF (20 mL) is added a solution of 1-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)azetidine-3-carboxylic acid in dry THF (20 mL) at 0° C. A solution of iodine (4.71 g, 18.6 mmol) in THF (20 mL) is added dropwise (caution: gas evolution) under N2 atmosphere. The reaction mixture is allowed to warm to room temperature then heated under reflux for 18 h. The resulting white suspension is cooled to room temperature. MeOH is added until the suspension dissolved. The mixture is concentrated under reduced pressure, then quenched with 1M aqueous KOH (100 mL) and extracted with DCM (3×150 mL). The organic phases are combined, washed with water followed by brine and concentrated under reduced pressure to give 2.13 g (27%) of tert-butyl 3-(hydroxymethyl)azetidine-1-carboxylate.

Provenance & Evidence