P-Cresol → Methyl 2-(4-methylphenoxy)phenylacetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a suspension of KH (212 mg, 1.0 eq) in DMF (3 mL) was added a solution of p-cresol (200 mg; 1.85 mmol) in DMF (2 mL) followed by 18-crown-6 (50 mg, 0.2 eq). After stirring the reaction 45 minutes until the foaming subsides, a solution of methyl 2-bromophenylacetate (424 mg, 1.0 eq) in DMF (1 mL) was added, resulting in a purple solution that slowly faded to yellow. The reaction mixture was stirred 2.5 hours and was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was chromatographed on a flash silica column (130×30 mm) eluted with 5% ethyl actate/hexane to yield 281 mg (62%) of the title compound (Rf =0.38, 5% ethyl acetate/hexane).

Provenance & Evidence