Water → 2-(Tert-butoxy)acetic acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a 3-neck 2-liter round-bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, reflux condenser and addition funnel was added potassium tert-butoxide (100.00 g, 0.891 moles) and 1500 ml of toluene under nitrogen. A solution of bromoacetic acid (61.90 g, 0.446 moles) in 100 ml of toluene was then added dropwise and the mixture then heated at reflux for 24 hours. After cooling the mixture to room temperature, water (100 ml) was added and the layers separated. The aqueous layer was washed with ether (2×50 ml) and then acidified to pH 1 with concentrated hydrochloric acid. The resulting mixture was extracted with ether (3×100 ml) and the combined extracts washed with saturated sodium chloride solution (1×75 ml), dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give 27.3 g of the product as a yellow oil.

Provenance & Evidence