Water → 3-Chloro-o-cresol

Participants

Reaction Steps

16.1 g (0.1 mol) of 2,6-dichlorotoluene, 19.8 g (0.3 mol) of potassium hydroxide (85%) and 0.3 g of dibenzo-18-crown-6 are heated in 30 ml of diethylene glycol at a bath temperature of 190° C. with reflux for 16 hours. The water released during the reaction is distilled off. After cooling, the reaction mixture is stirred with 100 ml of water until a solution is obtained and extracted three times with 50 ml of dichloromethane. The aqueous phase is admixed with 35 ml of 30% hydrochloric acid and extracted three times with 70 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases are dried and concentrated under reduced pressure. 3-Chloro-2-methylphenol is obtained as a solid (11.5 g, content by HPLC: 97%, 78% of theory).

Provenance & Evidence