Benzaldehyde → Butanal, 2-(phenylmethylene)-

Participants

Reaction Steps

30.0 mL Benzaldehyde was dissolved in 150 mL EtOH and cooled with an ice bath. Added was 5.01 mL 45% KOH (0.2 equiv.), followed by dropwise addition of 16.5 mL butyraldehyde. The mixture was stirred for 3 days at room temperature, acidified with 1M HCl and extracted with ether. The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4, filtrated and concentrated in vacuo. Vacuum distillation yielded 20.4 g of a yellow fluid (78-82° C., 0.6 mbar) containing 70% of the desired product. This material was used in subsequent steps without further purification. Characteristic signals in 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3): δ 1.15 (t, J=7.5 Hz, 3H), 2.57 (q, J=7.5 Hz, 1H), 7.22 (s, 1H), 9.56 (s, 1H).

Provenance & Evidence