Methyl 1-benzyl-2,2-dimethyl-4,5-dioxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylate → 1-Benzyl-5,5-dimethylpyrrolidine-2,3-dione

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of methyl 2,2-dimethyl-4,5-dioxo-1-(phenylmethyl)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylate (5.6429 g, 20.50 mmol) in 10:1 HOAc-water (100 mL) was heated at 100° C. and stirred for 2 days. The solution was cooled to room temperature and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was partitioned between DCM (200 mL) and sat. aq. NaHCO3 (100 mL). The aqueous phase was extracted with a fresh portion of DCM (50 mL), and the combined organic phase was dried over anhydrous MgSO4, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo to give crude 5,5-dimethyl-1-(phenylmethyl)-2,3-pyrrolidinedione (3.9096 g, 88% crude yield) as a light orange solid. LCMS: (M+H)+: 218.1.

Provenance & Evidence