Hydrochloric Acid → alpha-Tocopherol

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a mixture consisting of 23.3 g (0.153 mol) of 2,3,5-trimethylhydroquinone, 17.5 g (0.128 mol) of zinc chloride, 50 ml of isobutyl acetate and 2.5 g of concentrated hydrochloric acid, 46.1 g (0.153 mol) of isophytol (purity: 98.3%) were added dropwise under stirring at 30°-40° C. over 3 hours. At the same temperature, the reaction mixture was stirred for additional 2 hours. After the reaction mixture was washed with 10 ml of water, the solvent was distilled off. Toluene (100 ml ) was added to the residue to dissolve the same. The resulting solution was washed successively with water, alkaline water and a saturated aqueous solution of NaCl, dried over magnesium sulfate and then concentrated under reduced pressure, whereby 67.0 g of the title compound were obtained as a brown oil (yield: 98.6%, GLC purity: 98.6%, α-tocopheryl acetate content: 0.2%, isobutyl acetate recovery rate: 92%).

Provenance & Evidence