The general procedure for the synthesis of 4-iodophenylacetonitrile using 4-iodotoluene as starting material was as follows: referring to the operation of Example 3, a mixture of 4.36 g (20.0 mmol) of p-iodotoluene (Tokyo Kasei), 3.92 g (22.0 mmol) of N-bromosuccinimide (Tokyo Kasei) and 60 mL of carbon tetrachloride (Wako Junyaku Kogyo) was refluxed under incandescent lamp for 4 h. 2.67 g (yield: 45.0%) of 4-iodobenzyl bromide was obtained and the product was a white crystal. Subsequently, 0.49 g (10.0 mmol) of sodium cyanide (Kokusan Kagaku) was dissolved in 10 mL of dimethyl sulfoxide (Aldrich) at 50 °C, 1.48 g (5.0 mmol) of the 4-iodobenzyl bromide prepared as described above was added, and the mixture was stirred for 3 h at room temperature. After the reaction was completed, the reaction mixture was dissolved in water, extracted with hexane, and the hexane was removed by evaporation to give 0.84 g (yield: 68.9%) of 4-iodobenzylacetonitrile, the product was white crystal.
