Potassium Carbonate → Methyl (1,3-benzodioxol-5-yloxy)acetate

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Reaction Steps

The mixture of sesamol (13.8 g, 100 mmol, methyl bromoacetate (15.3 g, 100 mmol) and potassium carbonate in acetone (200 ml) was refluxed for 24 h with stirring. Acetone was removed under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in water (200 ml) and was extracted with ether (2×100 ml). The combined organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent removed under reduced pressure to give methyl 2-[3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenoxy]acetate as an oil (12 g, 57% yield). The aqueous phase was neutralized to pH 2-3 with concentrated HCl and the precipitated solid was filtered to get 2-(3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenoxy]acetic acid as a solid (6 g, 31% yield).

Provenance & Evidence