N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone → 2-Cyano-5-fluoropyridine

Participants

Reaction Steps

Add 5-chloro-pyridine-2-carbonitrile (3.0 g, 21.7 mmol) and potassium fluoride (3.9 g, 67.1 mmol) to a flask containing NMP (75 mL). Heat the mixture to reflux for 16 h. Add additional potassium fluoride (1.0 g, 17.2 mmol) and NMP (10 mL), then continue heating at reflux for 3 h. Cool the mixture, dilute with EtOAc, then wash with saturated NaCl (3×50 mL). Collect the organic layer, concentrate in vacuo and purify by chromatography on silica gel eluting with hexane/EtOAc (20:1) to obtain the desired intermediate (1.5 g, 53%).

Provenance & Evidence