4-Bromo-2-nitrotoluene → Benzoic Acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

4-Bromo-4-nitrobenzoic acid. A mixture of 4-bromo-2-nitrotoluene (5.0 g, 23 mmol), KMnO4 (10.9 g, 69 mmol), and water (250 mL) was heated at reflux overnight in a 1 L round-bottom flask fitted with a reflux condenser. The brown suspended MnO2 was removed by filtration through a pad of Celite®. The filter cake was washed with water. The basic filtrate was acidified to pH˜1 with concentrated HCl and extracted with EtOAc (3×300 mL). The combined organic layers were dried (MgSO4) and concentrated in vacuo to provide pure benzoic acid (1.22 g, 22%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CD3OD): 8.07 (d, J=1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.85 (dd, J=8.2, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.65 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 1H). MS (ESI): neg. ion m/z 244 [M−H]−.

Provenance & Evidence