Process Development of the Synthesis of 3,4,5-Trimethoxytoluene

Abstract

3,4,5-Trimethoxytoluene (TMT) was synthesized, starting from p-cresol, through bromination followed by methylation to give 3,5-dibromo-4-methoxytoluene (DBMT). The methoxylation of the latter with sodium methoxide in methanol was studied under pressure and by continuous distillation of the solvent, methanol. The O-methylation reaction preceding the methoxylation was advantageous from the point of view of separation, purification, and isolation of the desired product and also in reducing the tar formation. The residue obtained was minimized to 0.6−0.7 wt % of the DBMT. The methoxylation reaction with distillative removal of methanol gave a conversion of 98% of DBMT to the mixture of methoxylated products, and the conversion to TMT was 86.5% as compared to 93% and 70.81%, respectively, when the reaction was carried out under pressure in a sealed reactor. However, the overall conversion to TMT based on p-cresol is 64.27% for the methoxylation reaction under pressure and 78.46% for the reaction by continuous removal of methanol calculated as isolated yield. The advantages of the methoxylation of the DBMT over the published literature procedures involving direct methoxylation of 3,5-dibromo-p-cresol followed by methylation of the dimethoxy-p-cresol are the ease of separation, purification, and isolation by vacuum fractionation of the desired product TMT.