Phenylacetic Acid → 1-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-2-phenylethan-1-one

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of methanesulfonic acid (100 g) and P2O5 (10 g) was stirred at 50°-60° C. until solution was complete, then cooled to room temperature. To this was added phenylacetic acid (2.0 g) and anisole (4.00 g). The mixture was stirred at 50°-60° C. for 90 minutes, cooled to room temperature and poured into ice water (1.2 L). The solution was made basic by gradual addition of solid sodium bicarbonate, then extracted into ethyl acetate (800 mL). The ethyl acetate was dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to give 3.88 grams of crude product. This crude product was chromatographed on silica gel eluting with 2% ethyl acetate in hexane, to obtain 2.92 grams of 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-phenylethanone.

Provenance & Evidence