A solvent mixture of acetonitrile and ethanol with a volume ratio of 2:1 was added to the reactor, and 100 mmol of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone and 200 mmol of formaldehyde were added sequentially and stirred until complete dissolution. Subsequently, 100 mmol of ceric ammonium nitrate was added as an oxidizing agent. The pH of the reaction system was adjusted to 10 by slow dropwise addition of sodium ethanolate solution at atmospheric pressure and 60 °C, and 15 mmol of catalyst was added. The reaction was stirred under this condition for 8 hours, and 4-hydroxymethylimidazole was obtained after completion of the reaction. To the reaction solution, concentrated hydrochloric acid was added dropwise to adjust the pH to 2, and the precipitate was collected by filtration. The solid was washed with saturated sodium chloride solution and subsequently recrystallized with ethanol. Finally, the product was dried under vacuum to obtain 4-hydroxymethylimidazole hydrochloride. The purity of the product was determined to be 98.2% and the yield was 87.5%.
