The general procedure for the synthesis of 2,4-dimethylpyrimidine using 2,4-dimethylpyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid as a starting material is as follows: referring to Example 78, 2,4-dimethyl-5-pyrimidine carboxylic acid was heated and reacted at 160 °C for 4 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was distilled at atmospheric pressure and the fractions with boiling points of 152-153°C were collected to afford the target compound 2,4-dimethylpyrimidine (17 g, 49% yield). The product was characterized by 1H-NMR (CDCl3) with chemical shifts δ: 2.50 (3H, s, methyl proton), 2.70 (3H, s, methyl proton), 6.98 (1H, d, J = 5.1 Hz, pyrimidine cyclic proton), 8.49 (1H, d, J = 5.1 Hz, pyrimidine cyclic proton).
