Acetic Acid → Methyl 2-cyano-3-phenylbutyrate

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Reaction Steps

In another example, methyl cyanoacetate can be reacted with acetophenone in the presence of ammonium acetate and acetic acid in refluxing toluene solvent followed by hydrogenation with 5% Pd on C catalyst to yield methyl 2-cyano-3-phenylbutyrate. The latter compound can then be reacted with methyl bromacetate in the presence of potassium carbonate to provide the α-methylbenzyl substituted dimethyl cyanoethane-1,2-dicarboxylate starting 1,2-diester (See Example 8, below): ##STR10## The latter material can then be subjected to the aforesaid 1,2-ester transposition to provide the isomeric terminal diester (See Example 1, below.)

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