Methanol → Methyl 5-chloro-2-methylbenzoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

5-Chloro-2-methylbenzoic acid (46, 5.0 g, 29.3 mmol) was suspended in dichloromethane (30 mL) and thionyl chloride (3.2 mL, 5.2 g, 44 mmol) was added. The solution was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour. Methanol was added and the reaction was allowed to proceed for a further 16 hours. The volatile components were evaporated under reduced pressure. The resulting residue was taken up again in methanol (30 mL) and pyridine (5 mL) was added. The solution was stirred at room temperature for 2 days. The solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in dichloromethane and washed with water. The organic phase was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated to afford methyl 5-chloro-2-methylbenzoate (5.3 g, 96% yield) that was used in the following step without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence