To obtain a high-purity fluorine-containing benzyl derivative useful as a synthetic intermediate for a medicine, etc., in a short process in a high yield by reducing a specific fluorine-containing benzonitrile derivative and replacing an amino group of a formed amine derivative with a hydroxyl group.
A fluorine-containing benzonitrile derivative of formula I (X is a halogen; (m) is 0-4) is reduced with hydrogen preferably in a nonpolar solvent in the presence of a Raney nickel catalyst or a Raney cobalt catalyst to give a fluorine-containing benzylamine derivative of formula II. Then the derivative of formula II is preferably reacted with an acid and an alkali nitrite and optionally hydrolyzed and the amino group of the derivative of formula II is replaced with a hydroxyl group to give a fluorine-containing benzyl alcohol of formula III. When a carboxylic acid of the formula RCOOH (R is an alkyl) is used as the acid in the substitution reaction, a new compound of formula IV is obtained together with the derivative of formula III.
TAKAZAWA OSAMU
YOSHIKAWA HIROSUKE
WATANABE HIROYUKI
