Cetyl Alcohol → Allylhexadecyl ether

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

n-Hexadecanol (24.2 g, 0.1 mol) was added to a suspension of sodium hydride (9.6 g of a 50% dispersion in mineral oil, 0.2 mol) in dimethylformamide (200 ml) and heated to 50° C. for 30 minutes. Allyl bromide, (24.2 g, 0.2 mol) was then added and the mixture heated to 90° C. for 5 hours. The reaction was cooled, diluted with a solution of saturated sodium chloride (300 ml), and extracted with ether (2×300 ml). The combined ether extracts were washed with a saturated solution of sodium chloride (200 ml), filtered, dried over magnesium sulfate, treated with activated charcoal, filtered, and evaporated under reduced pressure to an oil. The resulting oil was purified by absorbing it on silica gel, placing the silica gel in a sintered glass filter, and eluting the product off with hexane (7×200 ml) followed by toluene (4×200 ml). Concentration yielded the pure ether (14 g, 50% yield): NMR (CDCl3) 3.40 (t, 2, --CH2 --O--CH2CH=CH2), 3.92 (d, 2, --O--CH2CH=CH2), 4.95-5.38 (m, 2, =CH2) and 5.58-6.20 (m, 1, --CH=CH2).

Provenance & Evidence