Hydrochloric Acid → (3-Bromo-2-methylphenyl)methanol

Participants

Reaction Steps

Ethyl 3-bromo-2-methylbenzoic acid was reduced as follows: Add 5 equivalents of borane tetrahydrofuran complex, via syringe, to 10 mmol ethyl 3-bromo-2-methylbenzoic acid in tetrahydrofuran (5 mL). The mixture was refluxed for two hours, then cooled in an ice bath. Methanol (10 mL) was added dropwise, followed by 1 N HCl (50 mL). The solvent was removed and the mixture partitioned between ethyl acetate and water. The yield was 90%. 1H NMR (Varian 300 MHz, CDCl3, shifts relative to the solvent peak at 7.24 ppm) δ7.5 (d, 1H) 7.2 (d, 1H) 7.1 (t, 1H), 4.6 (s, 2H) 2.3 (s, 3H).

Provenance & Evidence