Hydrochloric Acid → 2-(Ethoxycarbonyl)butanoic acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

Diethyl ethylmalonate was stirred overnight with 95% ethanol in the presence of 1M KOH. The white precipitate that forms was filtered out of solution, and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure (e.g., on a rotary evaporator). The yellowish oil obtained upon concentration of the filtrate was added to the precipitate and the mixture was dissolved in a minimum amount of water. After acidification with dilute aqueous HCl to a pH of 2, an oil separates from the solution. The oil was taken up into diethyl ether and the aqueous layer was extracted three times with further with diethyl ether. The ether extracts were combined, dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered. A quantitative yield of 2-carboethoxybutyric acid was obtained as a yellowish oil.

Provenance & Evidence