Dichloromethane → Dimethyl-2,4-bis(phenylmethyl)-3-oxoglutarate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Dimethyl 2,4-bis(phenylmethylene)-3-oxo-glutarate (630 mg, 1.8 mmol) (C. H. Chen, et al, J. Org. Chem., 1981, 46, 2752-2757) was dissolved in about 100 mL of methanol and 250 mg of 10% palladium on carbon was added. The reaction mixture was shaken at ambient temperature under 4 atmospheres of hydrogen for about 12 h. The catalyst was removed by filtration and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue (750 mg) was taken up in ~15 mL of methylene chloride and applied to a 1.0×45 cm column of silica gel. The column was eluted @ 5 p.s.i. with 150 mL of methylene chloride to give 374 mg (58% yield) of the title compound. The 300 MHz 1H NMR was consistent with the assigned structure.

Provenance & Evidence