Current location: JICS Archive > Vol. 7 > No. 2 > Articles : 23

A Highly Efficient Synthetic Method for the Preparation of 3,4-Dimethylbenzaldehyde from o-Xylene in Aqueous Media

Y.L. Hu, M. Lu*, Q.F. Liu, W. Wei and X. Liu

Chemical Engineering College, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, PR China

In this study, 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde was obtained in 82.3% total yield by oxidation of 3,4-dimethylbenzyl chloride with NaNO₃/AcOH catalyzed by PEG-600 in aqueous media. The starting material 3,4-dimethylbenzyl chloride was prepared by chloromethylation of o-xylene in CTAB micellar catalytic system. Compared with other synthetic methods, this method not only enhanced the yield, but also afforded an efficient work-up procedure. The structures of the products were confirmed by Elemental analysis, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR or compared with authentic samples.

Keywords: 3,4-Dimethylbenzaldehyde, Micellar catalysis, Phase transfer catalysis, Chloromethylation, Oxidation