Hydrochloric Acid → 4-Hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetic acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

Methyl 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetate (21.1 g, 0.1 mol) was suspended in a mixture of water (55 ml) and methanol (105 ml). The suspension was stirred at room temperature while a solution of sodium hydroxide (8.8 g, 0.22 mol) in water (50 ml) was added dropwise over 20 minutes, maintaining the reaction temperature between 20 and 25° C. by water bath cooling. The resultant dark red solution was stirred at room temperature for 15 minutes, diluted with water and acidified to pH1-2 by addition of 2M hydrochloric acid and extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic extract was washed with brine (200 ml), dried over magnesium sulphate, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to give 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetic acid (19.6 g) as a yellow solid.

Provenance & Evidence