Potassium Cyanide → 2-(5-bromo-1H-indol-3-yl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

According to the procedure of C. Huebner et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 75, 5887 (1953), (5-bromo-3-indolylmethyl)-trimethylammonium methyl sulfate (41.6 g, 0.11 mol) was added to a solution of potassium cyanide (21.49 g, 0.33 mol) in water (215 mL) and stirred at 60°-70° C. for 1 hour. The reaction was cooled to room temperature, extracted with ether (2×400 mL), washed with saturated NaHCO3, brine, dried (MgSO4), and concentrated under reduced pressure to yield 23.4 g (90%) of product as a white solid.

Provenance & Evidence