2-Cyanophenylbis(5-methylfur-2-yl)methane

The mixture of 2-bromophenylbis(5-methylfur-2-yl)methane [1] (16.55 g, 50 mmol), 5 g CuCN and 5 ml of dry pyridine was heated for 12 hr on the oil bath at 220deg.C, then cooled to 150deg.C and poured onto a mixture of 10 ml ethylenediamine in 100 ml of H₂O and 100 ml of benzene. The mixture was refluxed for 3 hr, the emulsion was filtered, the benzene layer separated and after drying with Na₂SO₄ evaporated. The residue was dissolved in the boiling hexane and filtered through a pad of Al₂O₃. Cooling the hexane solution gave 5.15 g (37.14%) of golden needles.

M.p. 86-87deg.C.

¹H-NMR (CDCl₃): 7.65-7.2 (m, 4H, H_Ar), 5.95 (d, 2H, 3-H_Fur), 5.83 (d, 2H, 4-H_Fur), 5.7 (s, 1H, CH), 2.2 (s, 6H, CH₃) ppm.

Anal. calc. for C₁₈H₁₅NO₂ (277, 32): C 77.96, H 5.45, N 5.05; found: C 77.85, H 5.53, N 4.96.

Acknowledgment: The author would like to thank Mr. Vladimir T. Abaev and Mr. Alexandre Butin for their support.