Methanol → E-5-Decen-1-ol

A portion of the 5-decenyl acetate can be removed and converted to the corresponding alcohol according to the following procedure and the scale can be adjusted as necessary. 15.0 g (67 mmol) of the 5-decenyl acetate, 35 mL of methanol and 34 mL of 2 M sodium hydroxide is added to a 250 mL round-bottomed flask. This mixture is stirred for 3 hours at room temperature. After 3 hours the hydrolysis is complete, 10 mL of hexane is then added and the solution is washed with 10 mL of 1 M HCl, 10 mL of NaHCO3-saturated water and 10 mL of brine. The organic phase is dried with sodium sulfate and filtered, and the hexane is removed under reduced pressure to yield 9.4 g of 5-decenol. GC analysis shows the isometric ratio of the 5-decenol to be conserved.