Sodium Hydroxide → 2,3-Dihydroxybutanedioic Acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Into a test tube equipped with a reflux condenser were charged 4.86 g of D-tartaric acid, 7.78 g of sodium hydroxide and 10.6 g of water. The mixture was heated at 116°C in an oil bath for 8 hours under reflux. Analysis of the resulting reaction mixture gave 0.11 g of unreacted D-tartaric acid, 2.45 g of DL-tartaric acid and 1.79 g of meso-tartaric acid. The conversion of D-tartaric acid to DL-tartaric acid was 50.4%.

Provenance & Evidence