Oxygen → 2-Hydroxy4,4-dimethyl-gamma-butyrolactone

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 3 mmol of ethyl acrylate, 3 ml of 2-propanol, 0.6 mmol of 6-trifluoromethyl-l-hydroxybenzotriazole, 0.003 mmol of cobalt(II) acetate, 0.015 mmol of acetylacetonatocobalt(III), and 1 ml of acetonitrile was stirred at 60° C. in an oxygen atmosphere (1 atm) for 12 hours. A gas chromatographic analysis of products in a reaction mixture found that ethyl 2,4-dihydroxy-4-methylpentanoate and (α-hydroxy-γ,γ-dimethyl-γ-butyrolactone were formed in yields of 2% and 28%, respectively, with a conversion rate from ethyl acrylate of 62%.

Provenance & Evidence