Sodium Hydroxide → 3-Cyano-3-(pyrrolidin-1-YL)oxetane

Participants

Reaction Steps

Pyrrolidine (7.4 g, 104 mmol) was slowly added at 0° C. to acetic acid (33 mL). 3-Oxetanone (1.5 g, 21 mmol) and trimethylsilyl cyanide (5.3 g, 52 mmol) were also added at 0° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight and diluted with 100 mL dichloromethane. 32% sodium hydroxide solution was pH-9 (˜50 mL). The mixture was extracted twice with dichloromethane. The combined organic phases were dried on sodium sulfate, filtered and carefully evaporated. Purification of the residue by flash chromatography on silica gel (dichloromethane/methanol 1:0→19:1) yielded 3-pyrrolidin-1-yl-oxetane-3-carbonitrile as a light yellow oil (3.22 g, contains 19% dichloromethane, 92%), MS: m/e=153.1 [(M+H)+].

Provenance & Evidence