Methyl cyanoacetate → Tert-butyl 4-(1-cyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a mixture of Na3PO4 (9.84 g, 60.0 mmol), methyl cyanoacetate (2.38 g, 24.0 mmol), and tert-butyl 4-bromobenzoate (5.14 g, 20.0 mmol) were added Pd(dba)2 (575 mg, 1.00 mmol), toluene (60 mL), and P(t-Bu)3 (10% wt in hexanes, 11.56 mL, 3.89 mmol). After degassing for 20 minutes, the reaction was stirred at 80° C. for 16 h. The resulting mixture was diluted with EtOAc, washed with H2O and brine, dried (MgSO4), and concentrated. Flash chromatography on silica gel (0-15% EtOAc/hexanes) gave tert-butyl 4-(1-cyano-2-methoxy-2-oxoethyl)benzoate as a white solid. 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ8.02 (d, J=7.9 Hz, 2H), 7.51 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 2H), 4.79 (s, 1H), 3.79 (s, 3H), 1.58 (s, 9H). MS (ESI) calcd [M+H]+ 276.1, found 276.1.

Provenance & Evidence