Ethyl orthoformate → Allyl 3-(methylamino)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Allyl 3-aminobenzoate (5 g, 28.2 mM) was dissolved in triethyl orthoformate (50 ml) and trifluoroacetic acid (5 drops) was added. The solution was stirred and refluxed up through 3 å molecular sieves for 5 hours. Solvent was removed, and the residue dissolved in ethanol (50 ml), followed by the addition of acetic acid (8.08 ml) and sodium cyanoborohydride (6.85 g, 0.108M) in several portions. The mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 16 hours, and solvent removed. The residue was dissolved in diethyl ether, washed with water, brine, and dried over MgSO4. Crude product was purified by chromatography on silica, eluting with a gradient from dichloromethane to dichloromethane/ethyl acetate (95:5), to give allyl 3-methylaminobenzoate (0.93 g, 17%). Nmr (CDCl3): δ 2.88 (s, 3H); 4.81 (dt, 2H); 5.23-5.45 (m, 2H); 5.94-6.13 (m, 1H); 6.83 (dd, 1H); 7.25 (dd, 1H); 7.33 (t, 1H); 7.43 (dm, 1H).

Provenance & Evidence