4,4'-Dimethoxybenzophenone → Ethyl 3,3-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate

A mixture of 8.25 g of ethyl 2-bromopropionate, 11.81 g of 4,4'-dimethoxybenzophenone, 7.16 g of zinc and 70 ml of benzene was heated on an oil bath for 4 hours under reflux. The mixture was then allowed to stand to cool, after which the reaction solution was filtered. The filtrate was washed with 10% w/v aqueous sulfuric acid, with water and with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride, in that order. After the mixture had been dried, the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure. The residue was subjected to flash column chromatography through silica gel (about 400 mesh, 300 g). 7.92 g of the title compound were obtained as white crystals, melting at 67°-69° C. (after recrystallisation from a mixture of methylene chloride and hexane), from those fractions eluted with a 100:2 by volume mixture of hexane and ethyl acetate.