Nitric Acid → 2-Nitro-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenol

Participants

Reaction Steps

To 7.5 g of 3-trifluoromethylphenol, 9 ml of 70% nitric acid was added dropwise at room temperature and the reaction mixture was stirred for one hour. The reaction mixture was poured into an ice-cooled saturated aqueous solution of sodium hydrogencarbonate, followed by extraction with ethyl acetate twice. The combined organic layers washed with water and a saturated sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography to give 1.56 g of 2-nitro-5-trifluoromethylphenol.

Provenance & Evidence