4-Fluorophenol → 1-(4-Fluorophenoxy)-3-nitrobenzene

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Dinitrobenzene (1.68 g, 10 mmol) and 4-fluorophenol (1.13 g, 10 mmol) were dissolved in anhydrous dimethylsulfoxide (25 mL), and powdered cesium carbonate (8 g, 24.8 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred and heated to 100° C. using a reflux condenser under a nitrogen atmosphere. After 16 h, the mixture was diluted with water (120 mL), and the aqueous layer was extracted with diethyl ether (4×60 mL). The combined ether layers were washed with 3% HCl, 5% sodium hydroxide, and water, then dried over anhydrous MgSO4. The ether was removed in vacuo, and the recovered oil was purified by flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate in hexane (1:25) to give 1.68 g (69%) of the desired 3-(4-fluorophenoxy)nitrobenzene product as orange crystals, 97% pure by HPLC analysis. MS m/z=234 [M+H]+.

Provenance & Evidence