4-Phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ol → 7-Phenyl-1H-indene

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Reaction Steps

Under a dry nitrogen atmosphere, a solution of 5.45 g (0.04 mole) of (+)-α-pinene in 15 ml of tetrahydrofuran was stirred and cooled to 0° C. Twenty ml of a 1 M solution of boranetetrahydrofuran complex (0.02 mole) was added slowly, and the reaction mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 1 hour. To this was added dropwise a solution of 3.28 g (0.017 mole) of 7-phenyl-1H-indene in 15 ml of tetrahydrofuran. The reaction mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 2.5 hours, then at room temperature for 2 hours. The mixture was cooled to 0° C., and 6.9 ml of water, 10.3 ml of a 3 N sodium hydroxide solution, and finally 10.3 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide were added in sequence slowly. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for two days, then poured into water, and extracted with two 100 ml portions of diethyl ether. The ether extracts were washed with 100 ml of water, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and the filtrate concentrated to give an oil. The oil was distilled using a Kugelrohr distillation apparatus (95° C./2.5 mm) to leave 2.62 g of an oily pot residue. The nmr spectrum of the oily residue indicated a 3:1 ratio of 4-phenyl-2-indanol to 4-phenyl-1-indanol (99% purity by gas chromatography).

Provenance & Evidence