2-Chloro-3-trifluoromethylpyridine (3 g, 16.53 mmol) was dissolved in 30 mL of a methanol solution of sodium methanolate (5.4 M). The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 48 hours. After completion of the reaction, the mixture was cooled in an ice bath and extracted three times with dichloromethane (DCM). The organic phases were combined, washed with saturated sodium chloride solution and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The organic phase was concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 2-methoxy-3-trifluoromethylpyridine as a colorless liquid (2.7 g, 89% yield). The product was characterized by 1H-NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6, 298 K): δ 3.98 (s, 3H), 7.2 (dd, 1H), 8.11 (d, 1H), 8.45 (d, 1H). Mass Spectrometry (MS): m/z 178.1 [M+1]+, retention time (Rt) = 1.29 min.
