Phenylacetyl chloride → N-(2,2-dimethoxyethyl)-N-methyl-2-phenylacetamide

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a 20 L Morton flask was added MTBE (5.52 L, 7 volumes) and (N-methyl-amino)-acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal (614 g, 5 mol) to form a solution at room temperature. A solution of sodium bicarbonate prepared by the addition of sodium bicarbonate (546 g, 6.5 mol) and water (6.31 L, 8 volume) was added to the Morton reaction flask. The mixture was cooled to less than 10° C and a MTBE (789 mL) solution of phenylacetyl chloride (789 g, 5 mol) was added dropwise to the cooled reaction mixture over a 1 h period. After addition, the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. At this stage an HPLC analysis indicated that the reaction was completed. Extractive workup with MTBE (4 volumes), anhydrous magnesium sulfate drying followed by concentration on the rotary evaporator provided 1.187 kg (98%) of N-methyl-N-(2,2-dimethoxyethyl)phenylacetamide as a liquid, (M+H)+=237.9.

Provenance & Evidence