Ammonium formate → ethyl 1H-imidazole-2-carboxylate

Participants

Reaction Steps

34.7 g (150.9 mmol) of ethyl 1-benzyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylate are dissolved in 1005 ml of ethanol, and 34 g of ammonium formate are added. The reaction mixture is heated under reflux for about 6 h. A total of 8 g of 10% palladium-on-carbon and 18 g of ammonium formate are thereby added in small portions. After cooling, the catalyst is filtered off and the filtrate is concentrated in vacuo. The product that crystallizes out during this operation is triturated with 80 ml of ice-water and collected by suction filtration.

Provenance & Evidence