Phenyl 2 nitropropene

Phenyl-2-nitropropene is a chemical compound with the chemical formula is C₉H₉NO₂. It can be produced by the reaction of benzaldehyde and nitroethane in the presence of a basic catalyst. In this reaction, the base deprotonates nitroethane to form a resonance stabilized anion. This anion nucleophilically adds to the aldehyde forming a beta nitro alcohol, which is subsequently dehydrated to yield the nitroalkene. This reaction is known as a nitroaldol reaction. Phenyl-2-nitropropene is used to make pharmaceuticals. It is used in pharmaceutical industry to manufacture drug Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy.