MeTHF as an Alternative to THF
MeTHF is an interesting solvent and a useful alternative to THF. One of the primary differences is that MeTHF is not miscible with water whereas THF is. This means that at the end of a reaction, you can add an aqueous quench and work up the reaction without having to add another solvent. MeTHF also gives clean phase splits whereas THF mixed solvents can give problems with emulsions and long sitting times to get clean phase splits.
MeTHF has some other interesting properties as well. Bromo derived Grignards are more soluble in MeTHF than in THF itself. It is also more easily dried. Not only can it serve as a replacement for THF, but it also has been used as a replacement for dichloromethane (pdf) which is a big advantage.
The main drawback currently is price. I quick check of Aldrich gives a 2L bottle of 2-mehyltetrahydrofuran for $165. By contrast, a 2L bottle of THF is only $88.90. I think the price will come down if more people start using it. After all, it comes from furfural which comes from corn and is renewable. Also with ethanol being considered as a fuel alternative, the ability to increase capacity for 2-methyltetreahydrofuran can be increased and the price will certainly come down.
Here is the page from Penn Speciality Chemicals with a lot more information on MeTHF.
For a reference on MeTHF for replacing dichloromethane: David H. Brown Ripin, Synlett 2003, No. 15, p 2353.
Technorati Tags: THF, solvent change, solvents
Related Posts:
Bookmark it with:
| 
del.icio.us
| 
Digg it
| 
Furl
| 
Simpy
| 
Spurl
| 
My Yahoo!
|
