Hydrochloric Acid → 3-Phenylbutyric acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

As presented in the following reaction formula, n-butyllithium (n-BuLi; 428 mL, 1.07 mol) was added dropwise at −78° C. to −65° C. to a mixture of bromobenzene (166 g, 1.07 mol) in tetrahydrofuran (THF; 500 mL), followed by stirring at −78° C. for 0.5 hours. Then, (E)-but-2-enoic acid (46 g, 0.53 mol) was added dropwise to the resulting mixture. After the completion of reaction, the mixture was treated with hydrochloric acid so that the pH thereof was adjusted to 1.0, and then extracted twice with 500 mL of dichloromethane (DCM). The combined organic phase was dried and concentrated with magnesium sulfate to give a crude product, which was purified by column chromatography (using 300 g of silica gel (product of Merck Co., Ltd.) to give 3-phenylbutanoic acid (52 g, yield: 60%) as a yellow liquid.

Provenance & Evidence