Triethylamine → Ethyl 3-(4-methylphenyl)-3-oxopropanoate

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Reaction Steps

To a stirred suspension of potassium ethyl malonate (1.62 g, 9.51 mmol, 2.1 eq) in acetonitrile (14 mL) at 10° C. under nitrogen was added triethylamine (1.8 mL) followed by MgCl2 (1.1 g, 11.3 mmol, 2.5 eq). The mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature for 2.5 hours. The mixture was cooled to 0° C. and 4-methylbenzoyl chloride (700 mg, 4.53 mmol, 1 eq) was added dropwise over 15 minutes followed by addition of triethylamine (0.3 mL). The mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and was stirred overnight. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate and cooled to 10° C. The solution was washed (cautiously) with 4N aqueous HCl. The aqueous layer was back extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic extracts were combined, washed with water and brine, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated. The residue was dissolved in aqueous 2N NaOH and extracted 3× with diethyl ether. The ether extracts were combined, washed with water, then brine, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated. The title compound was used in the next step without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence