Acetone → 1,1-Dimethylethyl 2-chloro-3,3-dimethyl-2-oxiranecarboxylate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of 70.8 g of potassium tert.-butylate in 500 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added over 30 minutes under an inert atmosphere to 111 g of tert.-butyl dichloroacetate and 35.5 g of acetone at 0°C and after letting the mixture return to room temperature, the mixture was stirred for 1 hour and poured into iced water. The mixture was extracted with petroleum ether and the extract was washed twice with water and dried over sodium sulfate. 40 g of alumina were added thereto and after stirring, the mixture was filtered to remove mineral products. The solvent was removed from the filtrate by distillation under reduced pressure to obtain 116.5 g of tert.-butyl 2-chloro-2,3-epoxy-3-methyl-butanoate in the form of a colorless liquid soluble in the usual organic solvents and insoluble in water.

Provenance & Evidence