Methyl propionate → Methyl 2-methyl-3-oxo-3-(pyrazin-2-yl)propanoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

1.2 L of tetrahydrofuran and 87.8 g (0.78 mole) of potassium t-butoxide were added to a reactor and cooled to 0° C. 71.5 mL (0.74 mol) of methyl propionate was dropwise added to the reactor and stirred at 0° C. for 30 minutes. 60 g (0.434 mole) of the methyl pyrazine-2-carboxylate of Example 1 dissolved in 500 mL of tetrahydrofuran was dropwise added to the reactor for 30 minutes and stirred at a temperature of 20 to 25° C. for 3 hours. 0.5 L of distilled water and 0.5 L of saturated ammonium chloride solution were added to the reaction solution and stirred for 30 minutes. The resultant reaction solution was concentrated to a volume of 1.0 L and then extracted with 1.0 L of methylenechloride. The resultant extract was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated to give 75.0 g of the titled compound as a dark brown viscous oil (yield 89.0%).

Provenance & Evidence