tert-Butyl methyl ether → 4-(tert-Butyl)-3,5-difluorophenol

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a suspension of zirconium tetrachloride (1.17 g, 5 mmol) in DCM (10 ml) was added tert-butyl methyl ether (0.44 g, 5 mmol) at 0° C. After stirring for 30 minutes at 0° C., 3,5-difluorophenol (0.65 g, 5 mmol) in DCM was placed there and the mixture was stirred for 8 hours at 60° C. The reaction was quenched with saturated sodiumbicarbonate aqueous solution followed by addition of DCM. Then, organic layer was separated, dried over magnesium sulfate, evaporated in vacuo to give the residue which was purified through silica gel column chromatography eluting with hexane/EtOAc (20:1 to 4:1) to furnish 4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenol as colorless oil (293 mg, 31%). 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3): δ 1.42 (9H, t, J=2.2 Hz), 5.22 (1H, bs), 6.32 (2H, d, J=11.9 Hz).

Provenance & Evidence