O-Xylene → 1-Benzyl-3,4-dihydroxypyrrolidine-2,5-dione

Participants

Reaction Steps

L-Tartaric acid (30 g) and benzylamine (22 mL) were added to xylene (150 mL), and the mixture was heated under reflux at 150° C. for 3 hours while water was removed with Dean-Stark apparatus. After the reaction mixture was left to cool overnight, the resultant crystals were collected by filtration, and were washed with acetone. The thus-obtained crude product was recrystallized from ethanol, to thereby give the title compound (23.2 g).

Provenance & Evidence