Potassium Cyanide → 2-(1-Benzothiophen-2-yl)acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of 2-chloromethyl-benzo[b]thiophene (1 eq.) in dioxane/water (2/1) was added KCN (1.5 eq.). The reaction was refluxed for 4 h. The crude was partitioned between water and EtOAc. The organic layer was washed with water, then brine, dried over MgSO4, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude was purified by chromatography on silica gel (elution with heptane/EtOAc: 95/5 to 90/10) to afford benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl-acetonitrile.

Provenance & Evidence