Methyl o-toluate → Methyl 2-(bromomethyl)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of methyl o-toluate (13.5 g, 89.9 mmol), NBS (17.6 g, 98.9 mmol), and benzoyl peroxide (50 mg, 0.2 mmol) in carbon tetrachloride (250 mL) was heated at reflux over the weekend. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool, and it was then filtered. The solvents were evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was purified by chromatography, eluting with 3% ethyl acetate/hexanes to give 2-bromomethyl-benzoic acid methyl ester (7.7 g, 37%) as a white solid. 1HNMR (CDCl3): δ 7.97 (dd, J=1.5 Hz, 8.0 Hz, 1H) 7.49 (m, 2H), 7.38 (dt, J=1.5 Hz, 8.0 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (s, 2H), 3.94 (s, 3H). MS (APCI+): 231 (100), 229 (93).

Provenance & Evidence