Trifluoroacetic acid → Ethyl 2-(3,4-dichloroanilino)acetate

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Reaction Steps

3,4-dichloroaniline (100 g, 0.617 mol), ethyl bromoacetate (68.4 mL, 0.617 mol), and di-isopropylethylamine (129.0 mL, 0.740 mol) were combined in 300 mL of dry N-methyl pyrrolidinone and stirred at room temperature for 18 hours. HPLC (Eclipse XDB-C18, 4.6×250 mm, 5 micron, 1-99% CH3CN/H2O with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid) after 18 hours at room temperature showed that most of the starting material (Rt=5.2 min) was gone and that a new peak had formed (Rt=7.9 min). The reaction was heated to 90° C. to push it to completion, which was achieved after one hour at 90° C., as shown by HPLC. The reaction was allowed to cool to room temperature and then poured onto 2.5 L of ice, 1.5 L of water, and 240 g of NaHCO3. A tan precipitate formed immediately and this suspension was stirred vigorously for 10 minutes and then filtered through a fritted glass funnel. The tan solid was air-dried for 20 hours in a crystallizing dish and then transferred to a 1 L flask and dried by rotary evaporation to remove the bulk of the remaining water. The tan solid was then dried under high vacuum to give 147.8 g (0.596 mol, 97%) of ethyl N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)glycinate. LC/MS (APCI) m/e 248 [M+H]+.

Provenance & Evidence