Potassium Cyanide → 2,3-Difluorophenylacetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

2,3-Difluorobenzyl bromide (5 g, 24.2 mmol) in acetonitrile (20 mL) was treated with 18-crown-6 (638 mg, 2.4 mmol) and potassium cyanide (5 g, 77 mmol). The reaction was heated at reflux for 5.5 hours. The reaction was diluted with diethyl ether (100 mL). The resulting organic solution was washed with 1 N NaOH (3×25 mL), dried over anhydrous MgSO4, filtered, and concentrated to afford 3.71 g of crude 2,3-difluorobenzyl cyanide.

Provenance & Evidence