Ethyl Acetate → 3-(3-Pyridinyl)-2-propenenitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a suspension of sodium hydride (62% oil, 10.87 g) in tetrahydrofuran (200 ml) was added successively diethyl cyanomethylphosphonate (43.25 ml) and pyridine-3-carbaldehyde (24 ml) at 0° C. Then, the reaction mixture was heated to refluxing temperature. After 5 hours the reaction mixture was poured into a mixture of ethyl acetate (1 l) and water (200 ml). The organic layer was separated, washed with brine and dried over magnesium sulfate. Evaporation of the solvent gave a residue, which was chromatographed on silica gel (600 ml) eluting with ethyl acetate to give 3-(3-pyridyl)acrylonitrile (23.9 g).

Provenance & Evidence