A practical and convenient Blanc-type chloromethylation catalyzed by zinc chloride under solvent-free conditions

Chloromethylation of various aromatic hydrocarbons and substituted phenolic derivatives with dimethoxymethane and chlorosulfonic acid was carried out in the presence of 10 mol% of ZnCl2 in a mild and efficient manner under solvent-free conditions. In addition, 2,6-dimethyltyrosine was synthesized in high yield via this protocol.