General procedure for the synthesis of (2,4-dimethylphenyl)methanol from 2,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde: To a methanolic solution (100 mL) of 2,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde (10.4 g) was slowly added sodium borohydride (0.83 g) at 0 °C. The reaction mixture was stirred continuously at 0 °C for 1 hour. Upon completion of the reaction, the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure to remove the solvent. Water was added to the concentrated residue and extracted with ethyl acetate. The combined organic extracts were washed sequentially with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, water and saturated brine to remove impurities. The washed organic layer was dried with anhydrous magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the title compound (2,4-dimethylphenyl)methanol as a colorless oil (yield 10.8 g, quantitative yield). The product was characterized by 1H-NMR (CDCl3) with chemical shifts δ: 1.55 (1H, t, J = 5.4 Hz), 2.31 (3H, s), 2.33 (3H, s), 4.64 (2H, d, J = 5.4 Hz), 6.98-7.00 (2H, m), 7.19-7.22 (1H, m).
