Dimethyl itaconate → Methyl 1-(4-methoxybenzyl)-5-oxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of dimethyl 2-methylidenebutanedioate (47.5 g, 300 mmol) and 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)methanamine (41.2 g, 300 mmol) in 400 mL of MeOH was stirred at room temperature overnight. The resulting reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo to remove methanol. The residual brown oil was stirred with 40 mL of EtOAc and 40 mL of PE vigorously. The precipitate was collected by filtration and washed with PE (40 mL×2) to afford methyl 1-(4-methoxybenzyl)-5-oxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylate (68.0 g, yield: 86.1%).

Provenance & Evidence