2-p-Chlorophenyl-1-butanol (V) has been synthesized by the condensation of p-chlorophenacyl chloride (I) with ethylmagnesium chloride and dehydrochlorination of the resulting 1-chloro-2-p-chlorophenyl-2-butanol (II) to 2-ethyl-2-p-chlorophenyloxirane (III), followed by reduction. It has been discovered that reduction of III with lithium aluminium hydride yielded the tertiary alcohol, 2-p-chlorophenyl-2-butanol (IV), while reduction of III with aluminium hydride yielded the primary alcohol V. The two alcohols IV and V were also prepared by unambiguous methods. Attempts to synthesize the higher homologues of the alcohol V were not very successful.
Robust bifunctional CoIII –complexes featuring amine-functionalized NHC ligands have been developed as highly effective catalysts for the nitrile α-alkylation with diverse alcohols, spanning from aliphatic to aromatic including the secondary ones.