[victor]

Hi there, actually I really want to design an organic reaction synthesis after I pass my organic chemistry lesson for 4 month..
I'm choosing to synthesize vaniline (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde).I choose phenol as a starting compound. What do you think about that?? And until now I face two major problems which are:
1. drive the product into para position (because hydroxyl group is an ortho, para director).
2. making a benzene ring can accept the nucleophile.

any tips about that??

[AWK]

You should start from a quaiacol (can be obtained with moderate yield from pyrocatechin) and use a quite dangerous Gattermann method (HCN).
Other commercial methods start from isoeugenol or lignin.
http://ddata.over-blog.com/xxxyyy/0/01/69/40/conference-r.-sheldon.pdf

[technologist]

U can search http://orgsynth.org