Hydrochloric Acid → Diethyl (2-hydroxyethyl)phosphonate

Participants

Reaction Steps

100 g of 2-acetoxyethane phosphonic acid diethyl ester are blended with 200 ml of isobutyl alcohol containing 2 g of HCl and heated to 120°-150°C for 5 hours. A mixture of isobutyl acetate and isobutanol is removed continuously by distillation in the course of the reaction. By gas chromatography of the mixture of isobutyl acetate/isobutanol, no ethyl acetate and only traces of ethanol were found. 51 g of 2-hydroxyethane-phosphonic acid diethyl ester are obtained after distillation under reduced pressure, corresponding to a yield of 62% of the theoretical.

Provenance & Evidence