Reaction #2286284

Reaction equation

formaldehyde

formaldehyde

2-chloro-6-methyl phenol

dimethyl amine

dimethylamine

→

2-chloro-4-dimethylaminomethyl-6-methyl-phenol

Yield 66.0%

2-Chloro-4-dimethylaminomethyl-6-methyl-phenol

Yield 66.0%

Solvents

water

ethanol

water

Conditions

Workup

1. 1
   TemperatureThe reaction was heated
2. 2
   Temperatureto reflux for 24 h
3. 3
   Concentrationconcentrated under vacuum
4. 4
   workup.ADDITIONThe resulting oil was diluted with water (200 mL)
5. 5
   workup.ADDITIONacidified to pH=2 by addition of a 1N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution
6. 6
   ExtractionThe water layer was extracted with ethyl acetate (300 mL)
7. 7
   workup.ADDITIONThe water layer was made basic to pH=10 by the addition of a 1N aqueous sodium hydroxide solution
8. 8
   Extractionwas extracted with ethyl acetate (2×350 mL)
9. 9
   WashThe organics were washed with a saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution
10. 10
    Dryingdried with magnesium sulfate
11. 11
    Filtrationfiltered
12. 12
    Concentrationconcentrated under vacuum
13. 13
    OtherThe resulting oil was dried under high vacuum overnight

Procedure

A solution of 2-chloro-6-methyl phenol (5.0 g, 0.035 mol) in ethanol (25 mL) at room temperature was treated with dimethyl amine (3.95 mL of a 40% solution of dimethylamine in water, 0.035 mol) followed by formaldehyde (2.85 mL of a 37% solution of formaldehyde in water, 0.035 mol). The reaction was heated to reflux for 24 h. At this time, the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and concentrated under vacuum. The resulting oil was diluted with water (200 mL) and acidified to pH=2 by addition of a 1N aqueous hydrochloric acid solution. The water layer was extracted with ethyl acetate (300 mL). The ethyl acetate layer was discarded. The water layer was made basic to pH=10 by the addition of a 1N aqueous sodium hydroxide solution and was extracted with ethyl acetate (2×350 mL). The organics were washed with a saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution, dried with magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated under vacuum. The resulting oil was dried under high vacuum overnight to afford 2-chloro-4-dimethylaminomethyl-6-methyl-phenol (2b) (4.62 g, 66%) as an off-white solid; EI(+)-HRMS m/z calcd for C10H14ClNO (M+) 199.0764, found 199.0767. Molecular Weight=199.6822; Exact Mass=199.0764

Source