Toluene → (S)-2-Benzyloxy-1-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)ethanol

Participants

Reaction Steps

(S)-1-(3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)ethan-1,2-diol (11.45 g) and di-n-butyltin oxide (10.40 g) were dissolved in toluene (200 ml) and refluxed in a Dean and Stark apparatus for 16 hours. The toluene was removed under reduced pressure, cesium fluoride (12.70 g) suspended in N,N-dimethylformamide (200 ml) was added and the reaction stirred for 1 hour. The reaction was diluted with water and filtered through Hyflo™ before concentrating under reduced pressure and extracting into ethyl acetate. The organic phase was dried (brine, MgSO4) and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a crude brown oil. This was purified on silica eluting with 20% ethyl acetate/iso-hexane to afford the title compound as a pale yellow oil.

Provenance & Evidence