Synthesis
General procedure: iodomethane (1.56 mL, 25.1 mmol, 1.5 eq.) was slowly added dropwise to a suspension of 2,3-difluoro-4-bromophenol (3.5 g, 16.7 mmol) and potassium carbonate (2.77 g, 20.0 mmol, 1.2 eq.) in N,N-dimethylformamide (30 mL). The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 days. After completion of the reaction, the insoluble precipitate was removed by filtration. The filtrate was concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure. Dichloromethane and water were added to the residue and the product was extracted with dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and subsequently concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 4-bromo-2,3-difluoroanisole as a white crystalline solid (3.8 g, quantitative yield).
