Chloromethyl Methyl Ether → N-ethyl-N-[2-(methoxymethyl)oxyethyl]aniline

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

55.7 g (0.34 mol) of N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxylethyl)aniline was dissolved in 250 ml of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran, and 162 ml (1.2-fold equivalent weight) of a 2.5M hexane solution n-butyllithium was dropwise added thereto over a period of 30 minutes at 0° C. in an atmosphere of argon, followed by stirring at 0° C. for 30 minutes. Next, to the reaction solution obtained, 30.0 g (1.09-fold equivalent weight) of methoxymethyl chloride was dropwise added, and the solution was heated and refluxed for 12 hours, followed by cooling. The precipitate formed was removed by filtration, and thereafter the filtrate obtained was concentrated under reduced pressure. The oily residue thus obtained was distilled under reduced pressure to obtain 63 g of N-ethyl-N-[2-(methoxymethyl)oxyethyl]aniline (yield: 89%).

Provenance & Evidence