Water → Furan-2-acetic acid

Participants

Reaction Steps

2-(Furan-2-yl)acetonitrile was suspended in 300 mL of distilled water, mixed with 50 g (0.89 mmol) of potassium hydroxide and heated for 4 hours under reflux. After completion of the reaction, the reaction solution was diluted with diethyl ether and separated. The resulting aqueous layer was acidified with concentrated hydrochloric acid and extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with saturated aqueous sodium chloride, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and filterd, and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to give 25.2 g of the desired product.

Provenance & Evidence