The reaction was monitored by the consumption of 4-hydroxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (RfDCM ~ 0.3) and the formation of the product (RfDCM ~ 0.65) as evidenced by TLC. The solvent was removed in vacuo and the crude reaction residue purified by chromatography with a gradient of hexanes/DCM. The chromatographed material was redisolved into DCM and passed through a 0.2 μm syringe filter before removing the solvent in vacuo and recrystallizing from ethanol/THF mixtures. i-2: 3-cycloheptylpropan-1-ol i-1 (100 mg, 0.51 mmol) was dissolved into anhydrous THF (5 ml) under an atmosphere of dry argon. Solid LiAlH4 (2 mmol, 74 mg) was added in one portion. The reaction was monitored by TLC; complete consumption of the starting material was noted after 30 minutes. The reaction was quenched with 1 ml of ethyl acetate (minor gas evolution) and the resulting suspension filtered through a pad of silica gel, which was subsequently washed with ethyl acetate (3 x 20 ml). The combined organics were concentrated in vacuo to afford the title compound as a viscous liquid with a foul odour.