Methyl 4-nitrobenzoate → 1-(4-Nitrophenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane-1,1-diol

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Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a mixture of 4-nitro-benzoic acid methyl ester (1.8 g, 9.9 mmol), trimethyl-trifluoromethyl-silane (2.0 ml, 12.8 mmol) and anhydrous dichloromethane (20 ml), cooled at −78° C., was added a solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride in dichloromethane (1 M, 0.5 ml) previously dried over 4A molecular sieves. After stirring for 72 hours, hydrochloric acid (1 M, 50 ml) was added. The mixture was treated with saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution (100 ml) and extracted with ethyl acetate (100 ml). The organic extract was concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate-hexane (1:3) providing 2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(4-nitro-phenyl)-ethane-1,1-diol (1.1 g, 47% yield).

Provenance & Evidence