Water → 5-Amino-2-fluoro-4-methylbenzonitrile

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

The starting 5-bromo-4-fluoro-2-methylaniline (1) (20 g, 98 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous 1-methylpyrrolidinone (100 mL), and copper (I) cyanide (17.6 g, 196 mmol) was added. The reaction was heated to 180° C. for 3 hours, cooled to room temperature, and water (300 mL) and concentrated ammonium hydroxide (300 mL) added. The mixture was stirred for 30 minutes and extracted with EA (3×200 mL). The combined extracts were dried over magnesium sulfate, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The oily residue was washed with hexanes (2×100 mL), and the solid dissolved in dichloromethane and loaded onto a silica gel column. Eluting with 0 to 25% EA in hexanes gradient provided 5-amino-2-fluoro-4-methylbenzonitrile (10.06 g, 67.1 mmol). LC/MS (m/z: 151 M+1).

Provenance & Evidence