Hydrochloric Acid → Methyl 2-(3-hydroxyphenoxy)-3-pyridinylacetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Methyl 2-(3-methoxyphenoxy)-3-pyridinylacetate (27.2 g) was heated at 115° C. in 47% hydrobromic acid (249 ml) containing hexadecyltributylphosphonium bromide (5.6 g). After 3 hours, the solution was cooled and potassium carbonate added until the pH of the solution was ca. 6. The reaction mixture was extracted (×5) with ethyl acetate. The organic extracts were dried, filtered and evaporated to give a pale orange solid. The solid was then treated with methanolic hydrogen chloride overnight (from methanol (500 ml) and acetyl chloride (50 ml)). The methanol was removed and the residue dissolved in water. The pH of the solution was adjusted to ca. pH6 with sodium bicarbonate and the solution extracted with ethyl acetate (×3). The combined organic extracts were dried, filtered and evaporated. The resulting organge solid residue was re-dissolved in dichloromethane and filtered through a plug of silica (eluent ether dichloromethane). Evaporation afforded methyl 2-(3-hydroxyphenoxy)-3-pyridinylacetate as a pale yellow solid (13.28 g, 51%) which was used without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence