To a three-necked round-bottomed flask equipped with a stirring magnet, condenser tube, nitrogen inlet and outlet, and constant-pressure dropping funnel, nitroethane (10 g, 0.13 mol) and triethylamine (0.3 g, 10 mol%) were added sequentially. The resulting light yellow solution was stirred for 10 min and then 37% aqueous formaldehyde solution (21.6 g, 0.27 mol) was added slowly and dropwise over a period of 1 hr. The reaction mixture was stirred continuously at room temperature for 24 h, during which the progress of the reaction was monitored periodically by gas chromatography (GC) to confirm complete conversion of the feedstock. The reaction was terminated after 24 hours and the volatile components were removed using a rotary evaporator. A yellow solution was obtained, which was analyzed by GC to confirm the presence of two target products (2-nitro-1-propanol and 2-nitro-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol). The mixture could be used directly in the subsequent reaction without further purification.
