Potassium Hydroxide → Dimethyl (2-hydroxyethyl)phosphonate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of 50 g of 2-acetoxyethane-phosphonic acid dimethyl ester in 100 ml of anhydrous methanol is mixed with 0.5 g of KOH and heated to 65°-70°C for 5 hours while simultaneously removing a mixture of methyl acetate/methanol by distillation. The crude product is submitted to distillation under reduced pressure, 34 g of 2-hydroxyethane-phosphonic acid dimethyl ester are obtained, corresponding to a yield of 86.5% of the theoretical.

Provenance & Evidence