Water → 4-Phenyl-1,3-oxazole

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 2-bromoacetophenone and ammonium formate in formic acid was stirred at reflux under nitrogen for 2 hours. The cooled reaction mixture was treated with 400 mL of H2O and extracted with ether (3×200 mL). The combined organics were washed with saturated aqueous NaHCO3, dried over MgSO4, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography (eluting with EtOAc/hexanes, 1:9) to afford 8.9 g (31%) of 4-phenyloxazole as a yellow oil.

Provenance & Evidence