Methanol → Methyl 2-Bromo-4-chlorobenzoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Concentrated sulfuric acid (5 mL) was added drop-wise to an ice-cold mixture of 2-bromo-4-chloro-benzoic acid (10.14 g, 0.0431 mol) and methanol (40 mL). The resulting mixture was heated at reflux for 17 hours. After this time, the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, and then poured into ice-cold water (150 mL), creating a white suspension. The suspension was extracted with ethyl acetate (150 mL). The organic phase was washed with saturated aqueous NaHCO3 (100 mL), followed by saturated aqueous NaCl (100 mL). The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4, filtered, and concentrated to afford 2-bromo-4-chloro-benzoic acid methyl ester (10.57 g, 98% yield) as a clear oil.

Provenance & Evidence