Methyl cyanoacetate → HCID 86758384, compound

Participants

Reaction Steps

Sodium metal (11.8 g, 0.511 mol) was dissolved in 450 mL of methanol and to this warm solution was added a solution of ethyl formate (104 g, 1.41 mol) and methyl cyanoacetate (43.8 g, 0.440 mol) over two minutes. A small amount of precipitate formed during the addition. The reaction mixture was heated to reflux and maintained there for 1.5 hours. The thick white suspension was allowed to cool to 20° C.-25° C. and the precipitate was filtered, washed with diethylether, and dried in vacuo at 45° C. to give 40.4 g (61.6%) of the title compound which was of sufficient purity for use in Preparation 6.

Provenance & Evidence