Hydrochloric Acid → 2-{5-Fluoro-2-(methyloxy)-3-[(phenylmethyl)oxy]phenyl}-3-oxobutanenitrile

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Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A solution of {5-fluoro-2-(methyloxy)-3-[(phenylmethyl)oxy]phenyl}acetonitrile (5.3 g, 19.5 mmol) in THF (60 mL) was cooled to 0° C. Sodium hydride (60% dispersion in mineral oil, 1.64 g, 41 mmol) was added followed by acetylimidazole (3.2 g, 29.3 mmol). The mixture was heated to 40° C. for 15 min before cooling to rt. Water was added, and this mixture was acidified with 1 N HCl (45 mL). Ethyl acetate was added and the layers were partitioned. The aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic extracts were combined, dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by flash chromatography (70% hexanes, 30% ethyl acetate) to provide 2-{5-fluoro-2-(methyloxy)-3-[(phenylmethyl)oxy]phenyl}-3-oxobutanenitrile as a colorless oil (4.9 g, 15.6 mmol, 80% yield). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3): (mixture of tautomers) δ 9.70 (s, 0.2H), 7.42-7.33 (m, 5H), 6.82 (dd, 0.2H), 6.75 (dd, 0.8H) 6.69-6.64 (m, 1H), 5.09 (s, 2H), 4.90 (s, 0.8H), 3.89 (s, 2.1H), 3.83 (s, 0.9H), 2.38 (s, 0.9H), 2.29 (s, 2.11H).

Provenance & Evidence