Benzyl Alcohol → Benzyl 3-oxo-5-phenylpentanoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Ethyl 3-oxo-5-phenylpentanoate (64.2 g, 0.29 mole) was heated between 190° and 210° C. under nitrogen with benzyl alcohol (28.9 ml, 0.28 mole) for 6 hours, the ethanol formed being distilled out of the reaction mixture. The resulting pale yellow oil was essentially pure product, slightly contaminated by starting materials, n.m.r. δ(CCl4) 7.23 (5H, s), 7.06 (5H, s), 5.03 (2H, s), 3.23 (2H, s) and 2.73 (4H, s).

Provenance & Evidence