Synthesis
The general procedure for the synthesis of 3-(2-methoxyphenyl)propionaldehyde from 2'-methoxycinnamaldehyde was as follows: a suspension of 2'-methoxycinnamaldehyde (1.00 g, 6.17 mmol) with Pd/C (131 mg, 0.20 mmol) in methanol (12 mL) was stirred and reacted for 2 h at room temperature. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was filtered through a diatomaceous earth pad and washed with dichloromethane. After combining the filtrates, the solvent was removed by concentration under reduced pressure. The resulting residue was purified by column chromatography (eluent: hexane/ethyl acetate, 3/1, v/v) to afford the target product 3-(2-methoxyphenyl)propionaldehyde.
References
[1] Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2017, vol. 27, # 2, p. 237 - 241
[2] Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 1997, vol. 7, # 19, p. 2473 - 2476
[3] Chemical Communications, 2014, vol. 50, # 94, p. 14752 - 14755