Water → 3-Chloro-o-cresol

Participants

Reaction Steps

8.1 g (0.05 mol) of 2,6-dichlorotoluene and 9.9 g (0.15 mol) of potassium hydroxide (85%) are heated in 40 ml of methanol in an autoclave at 200° C. for 20 hours, which results in a pressure of 30 bar. After cooling, the reaction mixture is poured into 250 ml of water and extracted three times with 70 ml of dichloromethane. The aqueous phase is acidified to pH 1-2 with 30% hydrochloric acid and again extracted three times with 70 ml of dichloromethane each time. The united organic phases are dried over sodium sulphate and evaporated under reduced pressure to give a solid. 3-Chloro-2-methylphenol is obtained as a solid (6.2 g, content by HPLC: 93.5%, 82% of theory).

Provenance & Evidence