Methylparaben → Methyl 4-(4-(2-tert-butoxy-2-oxoethyl)-2-cyanophenoxy)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

tert-Butyl 2-(3-cyano-4-fluorophenyl)acetate (2.6 g, 11.1 mmol) and methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (3.36 g, 22.1 mmol) were diluted with DMSO (22 mL) followed by the addition of potassium carbonate (1.83 g, 13.3 mmol). The reaction mixture was heated to 125° C. and stirred for 5 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and 10% aqueous sodium carbonate. The layers were separated and the organic layer was washed with 10% aqueous sodium carbonate two more times followed by water and brine. The organic material was dried over MgSO4, filtered and concentrated. The material was purified using a biotage 40M column eluting with hexanes:ethyl acetate (9:1) to yield methyl 4-(4-(2-tert-butoxy-2-oxoethyl)-2-cyanophenoxy)benzoate (2.65 g, 65.3% yield) as a clear oil.

Provenance & Evidence