Methanol → Methyl 4-ethyl-3-hydroxybenzoate

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Reaction Steps

To a solution of 4-ethyl-3-hydroxy-benzoic acid (3.76 g, 22.6 mmol) in MeOH (70 mL), cc H2SO4 (0.7 mL) is added. The solution is refluxed overnight, then concentrated to about 30 mL and poured into water. The aqueous layer is extracted with ether (50 mL×4) and the combined organic extracts are neutralized with a saturated aqueous solution of NaHCO3 (50 mL×2), washed with brine (50 mL), dried over Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated to give the title compound as a white powder. TLC, Rf (CH2Cl2/MeOH 95:5)=0.7, MS (LC-MS): 179.2 [M−H]−, tR (HPLC, Nucleosil C18 column, 10-100% CH3CN/H2O/5 min, 100% CH3CN/2.8 min, flow: 1 ml/min): 4.86 min.

Provenance & Evidence