A Practical Procedure for the Synthesis of Alkyl Azides at Ambient Temperature in Dimethyl Sulfoxide in High Purity and Yield

Abstract

Described is the often neglected, but very efficient, procedure for the preparation of primary and secondary alkyl and cycloalkyl azides in excellent purity and high yields. At ambient temperature conditions, the alkyl azides were readily obtained from alkyl bromides by the nucleophilic substitution of bromide with 1.2 equivalents of sodium azide in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). This facile and practical procedure provides highly pure products and eliminates the hazards associated with distillation of alkyl azides.