A Convenient Method for Synthesizing Modified 4-Nitrophenols

Abstract

[reaction: see text] Beta-nitroenamine having a formyl group behaves as the synthetic equivalent of unstable nitromalonaldehyde upon treatment with ketones under basic conditions and leads to 2,6-disubstituted 4-nitrophenols. The present method is safer than the conventional one using sodium nitromalonaldehyde and enables the preparation of hitherto unknown nitrophenols.