To a solution of methyl 2,6-difluoro-3,5-dimethoxybenzoate (2.4 g, 10.3 mmol) in anhydrous THF (20 mL) was slowly added 2 M lithium borohydride in THF solution (15 mL) dropwise at 0 °C. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 48 hours. Subsequently, 2 M THF solution of lithium borohydride (2.5 mL) was added additionally and stirring was continued for 48 hours at room temperature. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 °C and quenched with saturated ammonium chloride solution (NH4Cl). The aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate (3 x 20 mL). The organic phases were combined, washed with saturated saline, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by silica gel column chromatography to afford 2,6-difluoro-3,5-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol as a white solid (1.5 g, yield: 71.4%).1H-NMR (CDCl3, 300 MHz): δ 6.61 (t, 1H), 4.80 (d, 2H), 3.86 (s, 6H), 1.89 (brs, 1H).
