Hydrochloric Acid → tert-Butyl 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Oxalyl chloride (87.3 g, 0.68 mol) was added to a solution of 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylic acid (TFMAA) (15.0 g, 0.11 mol) in methylene chloride (90 mL) in a dropwise manner at room temperature under an nitrogen atmosphere. The solution was heated to reflux for 5 hours, and the solvent and excess reagent were removed on a rotary evaporator. The resulting acid chloride was added to a stirred solution consisting of t-butanol (44 g, 0.59 mmol) and pyridine (33.6 g, 0.42 mol) in methylene chloride at 0° C. over a 10 min period. After stirring overnight at room temperature, the solution was neutralized with diluted aqueous HCl and washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate. The organic phase was removed, and the aqueous phase was extracted with pentane. The combined organic solvents were reduced to a small volume by distillation and then the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel. The product was re-purified by distillation to give 14.0 g of TBTFMA as a colorless liquid (70%).

Provenance & Evidence