2-(Benzyloxy)benzaldehyde → Benzenemethanol, 2-(phenylmethoxy)-

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of 2-benzyloxybenzaldehyde (2.0 g) in methanol (20 mL), NaBH4 (356 mg, 9.42 mmol) was added under ice cooling and stirred for 1 hour. After addition of additional NaBH4 (49 mg), the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1.5 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated and water was added to the resulting residue, followed by extracting the mixture with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with saturated aqueous sodium chloride and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure to give 2-benzyloxybenzyl alcohol (2.1 g) as a colorless oil.

Provenance & Evidence