2,3,5,6-tetrachlorobenzene-1,4-dicarbonitrile

Conditions: temp:0.00; pressure:0.00; stir:; See reaction.notes.procedure_details.

Procedure: Tetrachloroterephthalonitrile (26.6 g, 0.1 mol) and ethanol (532 g) were mixed, and the resultant mixture was heated to 79° C. with stirring. To the mixture, a 20% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (16 g) was added over six hours. Liquid chromatographic analysis revealed the reaction mixture contained 16.5 g of 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-4-cyanobenzamide (yield 58%).