Sulfuric Acid → 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-cyclopenta(b)indole

Participants

Reaction Steps

Concentrated sulfuric acid (˜18 M, 35 mL) was added dropwise to a mixture of phenyl hydrazine (510 mmol, 50 mL) and cyclopentanone (45 mL, 510 mmol) in water (250 mL). The resulting mixture was heated to reflux for 30 min and then allowed to cool to room temperature. The liquid was decanted from the reaction mixture leaving a red, gummy solid. Hexanes (500-600 mL) was added to the flask and the mixture was heated to reflux. The yellow hexane solution was decanted hot from the mixture and placed in the freezer (crystallization begins immediately). More hexanes is added to the flask and the procedure repeated two more times using a total volume of 1500 mL of hexanes. After 1 h in the freezer, the solid was collected from the flasks and dried providing the known indole (410 mmol, 65 g, 80%).

Provenance & Evidence