Hydrochloric Acid → Tryptophol

Participants

Reaction Steps

A suspension of sodium borohydride (22.6 g.) in diglyme (800 ml.) was stirred in a jacketted flask with water cooling. 3-Indolylglyoxylyl chloride (41.5 g.) was cautiously added in small portions then the mixture was heated to 95°-100° for 5 hours. The cooled reaction mixture was diluted with water (2 l.), acidified with hydrochloric acid and extracted with dichloroethane. The extract was washed with sodium carbonate solution then with water and evaporated to give crude tryptophol as a brown oil. This was distilled at 0.1 mm and the distillate collected at 155°-160° was crystallised from toluene (50 ml.), giving pure tryptophol as white crystals m.p. 57°-59°.

Provenance & Evidence