Hydroquinone → Propanoic acid, 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)-, ethyl ester

Participants

Reaction Steps

A suspension of hydroquinone (12.2 g), ethyl DL-2-bromopropionate (10 g) and potassium carbonate (50 g) in methylethylketone (100 ml) was stirred under reflux for 5 hours. After removal of insoluble materials by filtration, the filtrate was concentrated by distillation. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate, washed with 5% aqueous hydrochloric acid and concentrated to remove ethyl acetate. The residue was purified by silica gel chromatography (eluent: 20% ethyl acetate : 80% n-hexane) to give ethyl 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propionate (3.0 g). Yield, 26%.

Provenance & Evidence