Potassium Carbonate → Methyl 2-(formyl-5-methylphenoxy)propionate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 6.0 g (0.0441 mole) of 4-methylsalicylaldehyde, 7.31 g (0.0529 mole) of potassium carbonate, and 8.62 g (0.0529 mole) of methyl 2-bromopropionate in 50 mL of 2-butanone was heated at 70° C. for approximately seventeen hours. The mixture was then filtered, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure, leaving a light yellow oil as a residue. This oil was placed on a silica gel column and eluted first with diethyl ether/petroleum ether (25/75) and then with diethyl ether. After the product-containing fractions were combined and the solvents evaporated under reduced pressure, 8.2 g of methyl 2-(2-formyl-5-methylphenoxy)propionate was recovered as a white solid, m.p. 65°-68° C. The NMR and IR spectra were consistent with the proposed structure.

Provenance & Evidence