General procedure for the synthesis of 4-amino-2,6-difluorophenol from 2-(benzyloxy)-1,3-difluoro-5-nitrobenzene: To a solution of 2-(benzyloxy)-1,3-difluoro-5-nitrobenzene (5.3 g, 20 mmol) in ethanol (100 mL) was added 10% palladium/activated carbon (1.5 g). The reaction mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature and 1 atmosphere of hydrogen at 1 atm. Upon completion of the reaction, the catalyst was removed by filtration and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 4-amino-2,6-difluorophenol (2.9 g, 95% yield). The structure of the product was confirmed by 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6): δ 8.68 (br s, 1H), 6.19 (d, J = 10.8 Hz, 2H), 5.01 (s, 2H).
