Butanoyl chloride, 2-methyl- → Tert-butyl 2-methylbutanoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

15.0 g (124.4 mmol) of 2-methylbutyryl chloride were dissolved in 150 ml of abs. THF and cooled to 0° C., and 114 ml (114 mmol) of a 1 M solution of potassium tert-butylate in THF were added dropwise. After the addition had ended, the mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 1 h and then at RT for h, and about half of the solvent was then removed under reduced pressure. After addition of diethyl ether, sat. sodium bicarbonate solution was added dropwise with vigorous stirring. After phase separation, the aqueous phase was extracted with diethyl ether, and the combined organic phases were washed with sat. sodium carbonate solution, dried over sodium sulphate and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by vacuum distillation (19 mm Hg, 40-45° C.). This gave a total of 6.35 g of the target product (32.3% of theory).

Provenance & Evidence