A-Phenylethyl bromide

The present procedure was developed from those of Wallach and Freylon, based upon the general method discovered by Leuckart. a-Phenylethylamine also can be prepared satisfactorily by the reduction of acetophenone oxime with sodium and absolute alcohol or sodium amalgam, but the reagents are more expensive and the processes less convenient. The amine has been obtained by reducing acetophenone oxime electro-lytically, by reducing acetophenone phenylhydrazone with sodium amalgam and acetic acid, from a-phenylethyl bromide and hexamethylenetetramine, and by the action of methyl-magnesium iodide upon hydrobenzamide, as well as by other methods of no preparative value. 

Steady-state approximation competition experiments. The solvolysis of a-phenylethyl bromide (RX) in ethanol-ethoxide ion solution produces the ether, a substitution product. 

Racemic a-phenylethyl bromide is carbonylated under phase-transfer conditions with 5 N NaOH and dichloromethane containing bis-(dibenzylideneacetone)Pd(O) and a chiral 2-substituted 3,1,2-oxaza-phospholane to give a-phenylpropionic acid in moderate ee (Scheme 83) (196). The reaction involves kinetic resolution of the bromide with a discriminative slow oxidative addition step. 

Bromo-1 -phenylethane (a-Phenylethyl bromide) Only product... 

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