Dimethyl Sulfate → 1-Methyl-2-phenyl-1H-imidazole

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Reaction Steps

A solution of 40 mL tetrahydro furan containoing 1.0 g of 2-phenylimidazole was cooled to 0° C. and 4 mL of 2M lithium diisopropylamide was added dropwise which resulted in the formation of a white suspension. The mixture was stirred for 10 min at 0 C. and then 0.7 mL of dimethyl sulfate was added/The reaction was allowed to stir at room temperaturee for an additional 30 min by which time the solution became homogeneous. Aqueous ammonium chloride was added and the tetrahydrofuran was removed by evaporation under reduced pressure. The aqueous phase was extracted with 2×100 mL aliquots of dichloromethane. The combined organic extracts were washed with dilute ammonium hydroxide and brine. The combined organic extracts were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to yield 1 g of 1-methyl-2-phenylimidazole which was used in the next step without further purification or characterization.

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