Hydrochloric Acid → 2-Hydroxy-5-methoxybenzaldehyde

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a mixture of MgCl2 (3.48 g, 37.0 mmol), TEA (12.8 mL, 92.1 mmol) and paraformaldehyde (5 g, 167 mmol) in MeCN (100 mL) was added 4-methoxy-phenol (3 g, 24.2 mmol). The mixture was refluxed for 8 hours, cooled to room temperature, then poured into 5% HCl (300 mL), extracted with ethyl acetate (200 mL×3). The combined organic layer was dried, concentrated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel (ethyl acetate/n-hexane=1/5) to give 2.3 g of 2-hydroxy-5-methoxy-benzaldehyde (4A).

Provenance & Evidence