Ammonia → 3-tert-Butyltoluene

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To NH3 (liquid, 1000 mL) was added a solution of 2-tert-butyl-4-methylphenyl diethyl phosphate (60 g, crude from last step, about 0.2 mol) in Et2O (anhydrous, 500 mL) at −78° C. under N2 atmosphere. Lithium metal was added to the solution in small pieces until the blue color persisted. The reaction mixture was stirred at −78° C. for 15 min and then was quenched with sat. NH4Cl until the mixture turned colorless. Liquid NH3 was evaporated and the residue was dissolved in water. The mixture was extracted with Et2O (400 mL×2). The combined organics were dried over Na2SO4 and evaporated to give 1-tert-butyl-3-methylbenzene (contaminated with mineral oil) as a colorless oil (27 g, 91%), which was used directly in next step.

Provenance & Evidence