Organic Process Research & Development
Article
Table 5. One-Pot Process for the Preparation of 3-Methyl-5-
Benzofuranol (1)
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
■
a
General. All reagents were commercially available and used
without any further purification unless otherwise noted. H
1
NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker 400 MHz instrument.
1
3
C NMR spectra were recorded on the same instrument at
1
00 MHz. Chemical shifts for protons are reported in parts per
million downfield from tetramethylsilane or referenced to
residual solvent. Chemical shifts for carbon are reported in
parts per million downfield from tetramethylsilane or
referenced to residual solvent. Data are represented as follows:
chemical shift, integration, multiplicity (s = singlet, d =
doublet, t = triplet, q = quartet, m = multiplet), and coupling
constants in Hertz (Hz). High-resolution mass spectrometry
(electrospray ionization, ESI) were carried out using a Waters
Quatro Macro triple quadrupole mass spectrometer Mass
spectra (EI) were measured on a Waters Micromass GCT
spectrometer. GC analysis was performed on an Echrom A90
gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector
using a fused silica capillary column. Analytical HPLC
(Shimadzu LC20) analysis was carried out on a C18
reversed-phase analytical column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, particle
b
entry
scale (mol)
yield (%)
1
2
3
4
5
0.01
0.1
1.0
1.0
1.0
89
88
85
87
87
a
Reaction conditions: a solution of propionaldehyde in THF added
dropwise to the solution of morpholine in THF at 0 °C and stirred for
0 min. A solution of PBQ in THF was dropped into the reaction
1
mixture with stirring for 20 min at 0 °C. Then, HCl aqueous was
added to the reaction mixture over 15 min, and the reaction mixture
size 5 μm) at 30 °C using mobile phases 68% (pure water) and
3
b
was heated to 90 °C and stirred for 2 h. Isolated yields.
−1
2% (acetonitrile) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min . Inductively
coupled plasma−optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES)
analysis was carried out on Agilent 725 ICP-OES.
One-Pot Preparation of 3-Methyl-5-benzofuranol (1).
the preparation of 3-methyl-5-benzofuranol, the scale of the
reaction was enlarged to 1.0 mol, and 85−87% isolated yields
for parallel batches were obtained (entries 3−5, Table 5).
Almost no obvious scale-up effect occurred in the one-pot
process under the current scale, which showed potential in
industrial scale-up. Furthermore, the recovery rate of solvent
THF was still more than 90%, which greatly reduced the cost
of the solvent and the production of chemical wastes.
Compared with the previous method, this one-pot process
i
A solution of propionaldehyde (58 g, 1.0 mol) and Ti(OPr )
4
(
284 g, 1.0 mol) in THF (500 mL) was added dropwise to the
solution of morpholine (86 g, 1.0 mol) in THF (500 mL) at 0
C and stirred for 10 min. A solution of PBQ (108 g, 1.0 mol)
°
in THF (500 mL) was dropped into the reaction mixture with
stirring for 20 min at 0 °C. Then, HCl aqueous (2 M, 1 L) was
added to the reaction mixture over 15 min, and the reaction
mixture was heated to 90 °C and stirred for 2 h. After the
reaction was complete, the white suspension formed (of TiO2)
was filtered through Celite. The residue was concentrated via a
rotatory evaporator in vacuo to recover THF. Then, the
residue reaction solution was extracted with ethyl acetate (500
mL × 3), The organic layers were combined and concentrated
to give a light purple solid, which was further purified by
recrystallization from dichloromethane to give the product (1)
(
Substrates Scope of the One-Pot Process. To test the
generality of the established method, the substrate scope was
investigated. In Table 6, various aliphatic aldehydes could
convert to corresponding 3-substituted-5-benzofuranol with
the isolated yields of 79−84% (entries 1−4, Table 6).
Interestingly, aliphatic ketones were also acceptable in this
protocol. Acetone could be successfully transformed to 2-
methyl-5-benzofuranol (15e), and cyclic ketones, such as
cyclohexanone and cycloheptanone, could also be well
converted to the desired products with moderate yields
as a white solid (129 g, 87% for three steps). The purity was
1
9
(
8
1
9.4%, as determined by HPLC. m.p. 91−93 °C. H NMR
400 MHz, CDCl ) δ = 7.38 (d, J = 0.6 Hz, 1H), 7.30 (d, J =
3
.8 Hz, 1H), 6.93 (d, J = 2.5 Hz, 1H), 6.82 (dd, J = 8.8, 2.5 Hz,
1
3
H), 5.37 (s, 1H), 2.16 (d, J = 1.0 Hz, 3H). C NMR (101
MHz, CDCl ) δ = 151.1, 150.3, 142.5, 130.0, 115.5, 112.7,
3
(
entries 5−8, Table 6). This one-pot process provided a
1
18.8, 104.7, 7.9. HRMS (ESI) m/z calcd for C H O [M +
9 8 2
promising method for the synthesis of the derived compounds.
+
H] : 148.0524, found: 148.0558.
Procedure for Synthesis of 15a-h. A solution of
aldehydes or ketones (2.0 mmol) and Ti(OPr ) (568 mg,
4
CONCLUSIONS
i
■
We have developed an efficient and scalable one-pot process
for the preparation of 3-methyl-5-benzofuranol with 85−87%
isolated yields. The complicated workup procedure and
reaction time were optimized comprehensively. More
importantly, the production of liquid waste was dramatically
reduced in the current process. Moreover, various aliphatic
aldehydes and aliphatic ketones could convert to the
corresponding products smoothly in this protocol. Compared
with the previously reported methods, the newly developed
process was of low cost and had a simple operation and high
efficiency.
2.0 mol) in THF (1 mL) was added dropwise to the solution
of morpholine (172 mg, 2.0 mmol) in THF (1 mL) at 0 °C
and stirred for 10 min. A solution of PBQ (216 mg, 2.0 mmol)
in THF (1 mL) was dropped into the reaction mixture with
stirred for 20 min at 0 °C. Then, HCl aqueous (2 M, 2 mL)
was added to the reaction mixture, and the reaction mixture
was heated to 90 °C and stirred for 2 h. After the reaction was
complete, water (5 mL) and ethyl acetate (10 mL) were
added, and the white suspension formed (of TiO ) was filtered
2
through Celite. The residue was washed with ethyl acetate (2
× 10 mL). The organic layers were combined and
8
13
Org. Process Res. Dev. 2021, 25, 810−816