Potassium Carbonate → Methyl 2-[p-(benzyloxy)phenoxy]propionate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 60 g of hydroquinone monobenzyl ether, 50 g of methyl 2-bromopropionate, 42 g of anhydrous potassium carbonate and 500 ml of methyl ethyl ketone, is heated with stirring for 24 hours to reflux temperature. After it has cooled, the reaction mixture is filtered and washed with methyl ethyl ketone. The filtrate is then concentrated in vacuo. The residual oil soon becomes crystalline. Recrystallisation from cyclohexane/petroleum ether yields 82 g of methyl 4-(benzyloxy)-α-phenoxypropionate with a melting point of 67°-68° C.

Provenance & Evidence