Synthesis and Characterization of 2-Amino-4-methylbenzothiazole as an Origin Intermediate for a Useful Fungicide Production

2-amino-4-methylbenzothiazole is an origin intermediate in the synthesis of 5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolo (3,4b)benzothiazole (Tricyclazole) as a useful fungicide. In this work, at the first step, (2-methylphenyl)thiourea was prepared with the reaction of o-toluidine and ammonium thiocyanate in toluene as a solvent. At the second step, the reaction was carried out from (2-methylphenyl)thiourea and chlorine as a ring closure reactant, without any catalysts. By the use of ethylene dichloride as an inert solvent, no ring chlorination takes place during the reaction. The purity of the synthesized compounds were judged by their C, N and H analysis and the structures were verified on the basis of IR, 1H-NMR and mass spectral data.