(+)-Styrene oxide → (+)-2-Phenyl-1-propanol

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

An oven dried 500.0 mL three necked round bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, thermometer, addition funnel with a continuous nitrogen blanket is charged with 2.0 M solution of trimethylaluminum (65.6 mL, 131.2 mmol) and toluene (75.0 mL). Reaction solution was then chilled to −60° C. with dry ice/acetone bath. To this solution was then added R-styrene oxide dissolved in 100.0 mL of toluene over a period of 50.0 minutes (reaction is quite exothermic and can be controlled by the rate of addition of substrate). After stirring at this temperature for 60.0 minutes, reaction was brought to room temperature and stirred for 4.0 hours. Reverse quenched reaction at room temperature into a slurry of THF (100.0 mL) and sodium sulfate decahydrate (46.0 g) very cautiously over a period of 90.0 minutes (quenching was quite exothermic with evolution of gas). Filtered the precipitate formed over hyflo, then concentrated filtrate to provide the intermediate title compound, (2R)2-phenylpropan-1-ol, (11.03 g, 92.6%) as an oil; 1H nmr (CDCl3, 300 MHz) δ 1.28-1.29 (d, 3H, J=6.9 Hz), 1.5 (b, 1H), 2.9-3.0 (m, 1H), 3.69-3.70 (d, 2H, J=6.64 Hz), 7.24-7.35 (aromatic); 13C nmr (CDCl3, 300 MHz) δ 18.31, 43.15, 69.40, 127.38, 128.20, 129.26, 144.39.

Provenance & Evidence