Synthesis and properties of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)tetrazole

The heterocyclization of monoethanolamine with ethyl orthoformate and sodium azide in acetic acid was studied. It was shown that the reaction proceeds through a step involving the formation of a disubstituted formamidine and leads to the production of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)tetrazole in high yield. A method for the purification of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)tetrazole by complexing with cupric chloride was developed, and its physicochemical properties and some chemical transformations were investigated.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 10, pp. 1422–1424, October, 1985.