Hydrochloric Acid → Methyl 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-hydroxypropanoate

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Reaction Steps

A stirring solution of methyl 2-(4-chlorophenyl)acetate (36.7 g, 199 mmol) (From Example 1, Step 1) and paraformaldehyde (6.27 g, 209 mmol) in DMSO (400 mL) was treated with sodium methoxide (537 mg, 9.94 mmol) at room temperature. The mixture was allowed to stir for two hours to completion and then poured into ice-cold water (700 mL) forming a white emulsion. The quench was neutralized with the addition of 1M HCl solution, and the aqueous was extracted with ethyl acetate (3×). The combined organic portions were washed with water (2×), then brine, dried over MgSO4, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was filtered through a plug of silica gel eluted stepwise with 9:1 to 1:1 hexanes:ethyl acetate to afford the pure methyl 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-hydroxypropanoate (39.4 g, 92%) as a colorless oil. 1H NMR (CDCl3, 400 MHz) δ 7.32 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 7.21 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 4.10 (m, 1H), 3.82 (m, 2H), 3.72 (s, 3H), 2.25 (m, 1H).

Provenance & Evidence