Acetic Acid → Phenylacetic Acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

Using the equipment and the procedure described for Example 1, an experiment was carried out on a charge comprising 25 ml (232 mmols) of benzyl alcohol, 15 ml of acetic acid, 161 mmols of methyl iodide, 8 mg atoms of nickel in the form of nickel acetate tetrahydrate and 40 mg atoms of vanadium in the form of vanadyl bis-acetylacetonate. The reaction temperature was 180° C.; the total pressure was maintained at 60 bars by introduction of additional amounts of pure CO. In a reaction time of 1 hour, 30 minutes at the temperature indicated, 15.8 g of phenylacetic acid were obtained (RY=48%).

Provenance & Evidence