Formaldehyde → 1,4-dihydro-2H-isoquinolin-3-one

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A mixture of phenylacetamide (5 g, 37 mmol), pyrophosphonic acid (80 g, 449.5 mmol) and paraformaldehyde (1.22 g, 40.7 mmol) is heated at 155° C. for 1 h to give a viscous black solution. It is poured into ice water and treated with potassium carbonate to pH 7. The solution is extracted with ethyl acetate, and the organic solution is washed with saturated potassium carbonate, dried over magnesium sulfate, and evaporated to dryness to give 1.145 g (21%) of the product as a yellow solid; MS (ESI) m/z 148.0 (M+1). [Ref: Heterocycles 26(9), 2385 (1987)].

Provenance & Evidence