2-Bromo-5-methoxybenzonitrile (10.0 g, 47.2 mmol) was dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran (100 mL) in a flame-dried flask and cooled in an ice bath. A solution of borane in tetrahydrofuran (75 mL, 75 mmol, 1.0 M) was added dropwise over 30 minutes. The reaction mixture was stirred overnight at rt, then quenched slowly with ice water and Na2CO3 (saturated aqueous solution). After removing THF, the residue was extracted with large amounts of EtOAc three times. The combined organic layers were washed with water, dried, and concentrated to give the crude, which was purified by silica gel column chromatography to give 1-(2-Bromo-5-methoxyphenyl)methanamine as a white powder (3.65 g, 36%).
