Formaldehyde → HCID 10920614, compound

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

82 g (1 mole) of 2-methylimidazole and 220 g (2.2 moles) of 30% strength by weight aqueous formaldehyde solution are stirred for 1 hour at 60° C., 50.4 g (0.49 mole) of triethylamine are added to the mixture, and stirring is continued for 48 hours under reflux at about 78° C. The solution is evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure at a bath temperature of 60° C., 160 g of crude product being obtained during this procedure. The crude product is stirred with 128 g of methanol and 32 g of isopropanol, for 30 minutes in each case, at 50° C. and at 10° C. with cooling. The colorless solid is then filtered off, washed with twice 200 ml of acetone and dried for 12 minutes at 45° C. to give 91.6 g of 2-methyl-4,5-dihydroxymethylimidazole of melting point 182°-182.5° C. This corresponds to a yield of 64.5%. The purity (HPLC) is 99.8%.

Provenance & Evidence