General procedure for the synthesis of 5-methylpyrimidin-4-ol from 4-hydroxy-2-mercapto-5-methylpyrimidine: 4-hydroxy-2-mercapto-5-methylpyrimidine (1.0 g, 7.0 mmol) was suspended in water (50 mL) and ammonia (3 mL) followed by addition of nickel ruanne suspension in water (20 mL). The reaction mixture was heated to reflux for 16 h. Upon completion of the reaction, the filtrate was thermally filtered through diatomaceous earth (10 g) and the filtrate was washed with water (3 x 25 mL). The filtrate was evaporated and concentrated and the resulting solid was azeotropically dried with toluene (2 x 50 mL) to give the final white solid product 5-methylpyrimidin-4-ol (0.75 g, 97% yield).
