3-(Trifluoromethyl)phenol → 2-Butanol, 1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 3-trifluoromethylphenol (75 ml, 0.617 moles), 1,2-epoxybutane (58 ml, 0.617 moles), potassium hydroxide pellets (86%, 0.062 moles), and water (100 ml) were heated with stirring at 65° C. for four hours. At this point more 1,2-epoxybutane (58 ml, 0.617 moles) was added and stirring at 65° C. continued overnight. The reaction was allowed to cool to room temperature and the lower phase taken off and the upper phase extracted with methylene chloride (2×100 ml). The organic phases were combined and washed with 5% sodium hydroxide solution (150 ml) and water (3×150 ml). This reaction solution was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and stripped under vacuo to yield 138 g of the desired alcohol, as determined by infra-red spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Provenance & Evidence