Synthesis of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetonitrile

The process of preparing 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetonitrile,as one of the important intermediates for synthesis was studied.Beginning from the raw material—vanillin,the title compound was prepared,via protection of hydroxyl,reduction,chloridization and nitrilation.The influences of various reaction conditions on the yield were investigated,and the optimal reaction conditions(reagent,temperature,time and yield) were as follows:acetic anhydride as acetylation reagent,reacting at room temperature for 3 h and yield was 99%;Raney Ni as catalyst,reaction time was 8 h at room temperature,and yield was 96.8%;dropping thionyldichloride at 0℃,then reacting at room temperature for 2 h,and the yield was 78%;refluxing with sodium cyanide for 9 h,and the yield was 78.5%.The products were characterized with MS,1H NMR and elemental analysis.The results showed that the process proposed overcame the defects of traditional synthesis route.