Diethyl Ether → Pentadecan-2-ol

Participants

Reaction Steps

Pentadecanone (200 g) was added a 3-litre three-necked flask under nitrogen, to which diethyl ether (1000 ml) was slowly added from a dropping funnel. Sodium borohydride (63.54 g) was then slowly added and the mixture stirred for two days at room temperature under nitrogen. Toluene was added to the reaction vessel and the contents transferred to a separating funnel. The organic layer was washed with water and the aqueous layer was collected. The aqueous layer was washed with toluene, which was combined with the previous organic layer. The product was dried with magnesium sulphate and filtered under vacuum. The solvent was then stripped on a rotary evaporator at 100° C. to yield the title compound.

Provenance & Evidence