4-Nitrophenylglyoxylic acid → 1-(4-nitrophenyl)ethane-1,2-diol

Participants

Reaction Steps

7 ml of a 1.0M tetrahydrofuran solution of diborane-tetrahydrofuran complex were added, at 0° C. under a stream of nitrogen, to a solution of 0.5 g of crude 4-nitrophenylglyoxylic acid in tetrahydrofuran, and the resulting mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract was washed with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was distilled off, to give 0.56 g (quantitative yield) of 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1,2-ethanediol as a crude product.

Provenance & Evidence