Sulfuric Acid → 4-Hydroxy-2'-nitrobutyrophenone

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A mixture of HgO (0.21 g, 1.0 mmol) in 50 ml of 0.12N H2SO4 is heated to 60° C., treated dropwise with a solution of 4-(o-nitrophenyl)-3-butyne-1-ol (3.70 g, 19.4 mmol) in 25 ml of tetrahydrofuran over a 10 minute period, held at 60° C. for 3 hours, treated with additional HgO (0.84 g, 3.9 mmol) suspended in 25 ml of 0.12N H2SO4, held at 60° C. for 4 hours, cooled to room temperature and diluted with water. The resultant aqueous mixture is extracted with ether. The extracts are combined, washed with brine, dried over Na2SO4 and concentrated in vacuo to give a residue. The residue is purified by flash column chromatography (silica gel; gradient 1:1→2:1 ethyl acetate: hexanes as eluent) to give the title product as a brown oil, 1.48 g, 37% yield, identified by NMR and mass spectral analyses.

Provenance & Evidence