GENERAL METHOD: 4-methoxy-1-indanone (1.5 mmol) was dissolved in 37% hydrochloric acid (5 mL) at 0°C and sodium azide (NaN3, 0.2 g, 3.0 mmol) was added slowly. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. Upon completion of the reaction, the mixture was poured into ice water and adjusted to alkaline with sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). The aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate (3 x 10 mL). The organic phases were combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the crude product. The crude product was purified by column chromatography with the eluent being a solvent mixture of dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) and ethyl acetate (AcOEt) (9:1, v/v).
