Hydrochloric Acid → 2,3-Dicyano-4-octyloxyphenol

Participants

Reaction Steps

Sodium (1.15 g, 50 mmoles) was reacted with anhydrous ethanol (200 mL) under a nitrogen atmosphere. 2,3-dicyanohydroquinone (8.01 g, 50 mmoles) in anhydrous ethanol (50 mL) was added dropwise to the ethoxide solution. Upon completion of the addition, potassium iodide (0.5 g) in 5 mL water was added. This solution was brought to reflux and octyl bromide (9.66 g, 50 mmoles) was added dropwise. The reaction was then refluxed under nitrogen atmosphere for one day. The mixture was acidified with 0.5N aqueous HCl and the solvents were removed under reduced pressure. The crude reaction mixture was flash chromatographed using silica gel and methylene chloride as eluent. The appropriate fractions containing the desired product, 2,3-dicyano-4-octyloxyphenol, were combined and the solvent removed under reduced pressure on a rotary evaporator. The crude product was recrystallized from ethanol/water to give 4.5 g 2,3-dicyano-4-octyloxyphenol.

Provenance & Evidence