Borane;tetrahydrofuran → Methyl 4-hydroxymethyl-2-phenylbenzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a 0° C. solution in THF (40 mL) of 2-phenylmonomethylterephthalate (10.5 g, 41 mmol) was added borane-THF (1.0 M, 82 mL, 82 mmol) such that the reaction temperature remained below 6° C. The reaction mixture was stirred for 0.5 hours, then the cold bath was removed and stirring was continued for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was again cooled to 0° C. and aqueous HCl (3 M, 100 mL) was added slowly. The cold bath was removed and the reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour. The THF was evaporated and the residue was extracted with ethyl acetate (3×). The combined organic extracts were washed with 1M aqueous NaOH (2×), water (2×) and brine, dried, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo to give 4-hydroxymethyl-2-phenylbenzoic acid methyl ester (9.75 g).

Provenance & Evidence