Dimethylformamide → Methyl (3-cyanophenyl)acetate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Nitrogen was bubbled through a mixture of (3-bromo-phenyl)-acetic acid methyl ester (22.85 g, 99.78 mmol), Zn(CN)2 (7.25 g, 61.75 mmol), and DMF (100 mL) for about 5 minutes followed by addition of tetrakistriphenylphosphine(0) palladium (4.60 g, 3.98 mmol). The mixture was heated for 3 h at 80° C. and was cooled to room temperature. Aqueous 2N NH4OH was added and the product was extracted into EtOAc (3×). The organic solution was washed with 2N NH4OH (2×) followed by brine (2×). The organic solution was dried (MgSO4), filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. Purification by flash chromatography (6:1 hexanes:EtOAc) provided the title compound as an oil (15.19 g). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 7.57–7.41 (m, 4H), 3.706 (s, 3H), 3.703 (s, 2H).

Provenance & Evidence