m-Phenylenediacetic acid → 2-[3-(2-Hydroxyethyl)phenyl]ethanol

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a two-liter, 3-necked round-bottomed flask equipped with a 500-ml constant pressure addition funnel, an overhead stirrer, thermocouple and nitrogen inlet was added 16 g (0.42 mol) of lithium aluminum hydride (95%) and 800 ml of anhydrous THF. The addition funnel was charged with a solution of 40 g (0.21 mol) of 1,3-phenylenediacetic acid in 500 ml of anhydrous THF. The diacid was added slowly over a period of 2 hours with cooling in an ice bath. Once addition was complete, the ice bath was removed and the suspension allowed to reach room temperature overnight after which time it was re-cooled and 100 ml of ethyl acetate was slowly added to decompose the remaining hydride. The addition funnel was recharged with 200 ml of 2M NaOH, which was then added slowly with vigorous stirring until the ensuing suspension became granular in appearance. The suspension was filtered and well washed with ethyl acetate. The combined filtrate and washings were then washed with brine, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated on a rotary evaporator to yield 21 g (62%) of the title compound as a clear, colorless oil.

Provenance & Evidence