5% Palladium on carbon (7.0 g) was added to a solution 4-(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)-5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,2-dimethylfuran-3(2H)-one (19 g, 42.1 mmol) in methanol (25 ml) at RT under an atmosphere of nitrogen. The nitrogen atmosphere was changed to an atmosphere of hydrogen. The reaction mixture was stirred under an atmosphere of hydrogen at RT for 4 h (the reaction was monitored by TLC). The reaction mixtures was filtered over through a pad of Celite®, washed with methanol, concentrated in vacuo and the resultant residue was slurried with heptane. The solid was filtered & dried under vacuum to afford 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,2-dimethylfuran-3(2H)-one (14.0 g, 95%) as light yellow solid. 1H NMR, 500 MHz, DMSO-d6: δ 9.5 (bs, 1H), 7.55 (d, 2H), 7.05 (d, 2H), 7.0 (d, 2H), 6.75 (d, 2H), 3.8 (s, 3H), 1.4 (s, 6H). MS: [M+H]: m/z=311.2. HPLC: (98.8%, Eclipse XDB-C18, 150×4.6 mm, 5 um. Mobile Phase: 0.1% TFA in Water. (A). ACN (B), Flow rate: 1.5 ml/min).
