Hydrochloric Acid → 3-Dimethylamino-2-methyl-4'-chloropropiophenone

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Reaction Steps

In a 500 ml round bottomed flask equipped with a reflux condensor was mixed 84 g of 4-chloropropiophenone (0.50 mole), 50 g of dimethylamine hydrochloride (0.61 mole), 20 g of paraformaldehyde (0.67 mole), 50 ml of ethanol, and 10 ml of concentrated aqueous hydrochloric acid. The mixture was refluxed for 18 hours, cooled and partitioned between ethyl and water. The ether layer was discarded and the aqueous layer was basified with sodium hydroxide and the resulting mixture extracted twice with fresh ethyl ether. The combined organic layers were washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to yield 105 g of 3-dimethylamino-2-methyl-4'-chloropropiopenone, an oil. NMR data was consistent with the structure.

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