Ok so recently i have been contemplating the possibility of synthesizing P2P/MDP2P from bromobenzene/3,4-methylenedioxy bromobenzene. I realize that this can be done by reacting bromobenzene with acetone enolate in DMSO (this would require a very strong base with a ksp greater than acetone 19.5) or potassium acetylacetonate hermihydrate (a very expensive reagent) with cuprous iodide, but i have an idea for a much easier way to do it using 1-bromo-2-nitropropane in a grignard reaction followed by hydrolyzing of the nitro group to form P2P or if 3,4-methylenedioxy bromobenzene was used MDP2P. The issue i have is with the preparation of 1-bromo-2-nitropropane, If you google this substance it doesn't come up instead it comes up with bromopol. This sewed doubt in my idea, but i was wondering if 1-bromo-2-nitropropane could be synthesized from 2-nitropropanol via hydrobromic acid or phosphoric acid in the same way you would go about producing alkyl halide from allyl alcohol or would the acid react with the nitro complex, i cannot think as to why they would react with the nitro group but my chemistry knowledge is lacking in some areas. Could someone perhaps let me know what they think and if im wrong let me know how they would go about synthesizing 1-bromo-2-nitropropane. Cheers Fish
