Hydrochloric Acid → 2-Chloro-6(dichloromethyl)pyridine

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 23.1 g (0.10 mole) of 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine, 10.0 g of methanol, 15.0 g of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 40.0 g (0.20 mole) of ferrous chloride as the tetrahydrate was stirred while heating to reflux. The mixture was a slurry which slowly became fluid and a two-phase liquid mixture resulted after 15 minutes. The mixture was maintained under reflux conditions (80°-90° C.) for one and one-half hours and then cooled to ~45° C. The mixture was extracted with 50 ml of methylene chloride and then 20 ml of water. The extracts were combined and the organic phase separated. Further dilution of the aqueous phase with water and extraction with 20 ml of methylene chloride gave an oil which was combined with the main extract and washed once with water. The crude product mixture was recovered in a yield of 88 g and after drying over anhydrous sodium sulfate, analyzed by glc. This analysis showed the mix to contain 82 percent 2-chloro-6-(dichloromethyl)pyridine, 4 percent 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine and ~14 percent unresolved impurities.

Provenance & Evidence