To a mixture of benzyl alcohol (108.0 g, 1.0 mol), pyridine (100 ml) and CH2Cl2 (175 mL) in a 500 ml 3-necked flask equipped with a condenser, mechanical stirring and an addition funnel was added phenyl chloroformate (156.0 g, 1.0 mol) over a period of 1 h. The reaction mixture was stirred for an additional 3 h, and H2O (250 mL) was added. The organic phase was washed with aq H2SO4 (2 m; 2 ×250 mL), dried (Na2SO4), filtered and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was distilled in vacuum to give benzyl phenyl carbonate. Yield: 180.2 g (79%); colorless oil; bp 146– 150 ℃/0.2 mmHg (127–131 ℃/0.1 mmHg). 1H-NMR (CDCl3): δ= 5:37 (s, 2 H), 7.18–7.48 (m,10 H).
