Formaldehyde → Diethyl 2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-phenylmalonate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Paraformaldehyde (720 mg) was suspended in phenylmalonic acid diethyl ester (4.73 g), and a catalytic amount of potassium hydroxide was added thereto at 60° C. After stirring for 1.5 hours, the reaction mixture was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with ethyl acetate:hexane=1:5 to 1:2 to give the title compound (4.96 g).

Provenance & Evidence