A rapid, high-yield conversion of codeine to morphine

Author:
  • KRKenner C. Rice
    Kenner C. Rice
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Abstract
Brief treatment of codeine (1) in chloroform with boron tribromide has consiste-tly given morphine (2) in 90-91% yield after a simple isolation procedure. The yield and simplicity of operation in this method are vastly superior to those previously reported for this transformation.