Hydrochloric Acid → 3-Bromo-5-methylbenzoic acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of KMnO4 (39.3 g, 249 mmol) in water (600 mL) was added slowly to a solution of (3-bromo-5-methylphenyl)methanol (25.0 g, 124 mmol) in acetone (500 mL). The mixture was kept at reflux for 60 mins. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was acidified with HCl (2N, 100 mL). A brown precipitate formed and was dissolved by adding a solution of saturated sodium bicarbonate (100 mL); then acetone was evaporated in vacuum. Ammonia (150 mL) was added. The mixture was filtered over Celite and the filtrate acidified with concentrated HCl. The product was extracted with diethyl ether (3×150 mL). The combined organic phases were dried (Na2SO4) and concentrated in vacuum to obtain 16.0 g of the acid, 3-bromo-5-methylbenzoic acid, as white crystals (yield: 60%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.05 (s, 1H), 7.85-7.84 (m, 1H), 7.58 (s, 1H), 2.40 (s, 3H).

Provenance & Evidence