Formaldehyde → Ethyl 4-methyl-2-methylenepentanoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

333 mg of lithium chloride was suspended in 14 ml of dry THF. Then, 2.0 g of ethyl 2-diethylphosphono-4-methylpentanoate was added thereto under stirring. Then, 1.41 g of DBU was added thereto in the form of a dry THF solution. Then, a suspension of 348 mg of paraformaldehyde in dry THF was added thereto. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. The reaction solution was subjected to filtration, and the collected substance was washed with a small amount of benzene. The filtrate and the washing solution were put together and concentrated under reduced pressure. The syrup thereby obtained was dissolved in 60 ml of ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed with water and with a saturated sodium chloride aqueous solution and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. Then, solvent was distilled off to obtain 700 mg of ethyl 2-isobutyl-2-propenoate as colorless oily substance.

Provenance & Evidence