Lithium Hydroxide → Lithium (RS)-alpha-(Hydroxymethyl)-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzeneacetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Lithium hydroxide (168 mg, 4 mmol) in water (2 mL) was added to a solution of (RS)-methyl α-(hydroxymethyl)-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzeneacetate (Description 7, 500 mg, 1.6 mmol) in methanol (4 mL). Methanol (2 mL) and tetrahydrofuran (2 mL) were added and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. The solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was dried azeotropically by evaporating toluene (×2) to to give the crude title compound as a colorless gum (870 mg), which was used without further purification. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CD3OD) δ 3.73–3.79 (1H, m), 3.85–3.92 (1H, m), 4.02–4.06 (1H, m), 7.80 (1H, s) and 7.98 (2H, s).

Provenance & Evidence