Methyl 6-methoxypyridine-3-carboxylate → (6-Methoxypyridin-3-yl)methanol

Participants

Reaction Steps

Sodium borohydride (11.30 g, 299 mmol) was added to a solution of the methyl 6-methoxynicotinate (5.00 g, 29.9 mmol) in ethanol (100 mL) at 0° C. The reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 3 days. The reaction was cooled to 0° C. and quenched by slow addition of 1 N HCl until pH 4.0. The reaction mixture was concentrated to remove ethanol. The remaining aqueous solution was washed with ethyl acetate (2×), then neutralized with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, then extracted with ethyl acetate (3×). The organic layers were combined, washed with brine, dried (Na2SO4), filtered and concentrated. The crude material was purified by silica chromatography (hexanes/ethyl acetate 1:1, 3:7) to give a clear oil. Mass/Yield—3.9 g/94% TLC (hexanes/ethyl acetate=1:1) Rf=0.22, UV active. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CHLOROFORM-d) δ ppm 3.91 (s, 3H) 4.61 (s, 2H) 6.68-6.77 (m, 1H) 7.49-7.68 (m, 1H) 8.09 (s, 1H).

Provenance & Evidence