Diethyl Oxalate → Ethyl 2,4-dioxo-4-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)butanoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of 2′,4′,6′-trimethylacetophenone (15 g, 92.6 mmol) and diethyl oxalate (20 g, 139 mmol) in 500 mL of anhydrous toluene was cautiously added 7.4 g of NaH (60% dispersion in mineral oil). The reaction mixture was slowly heated to reflux under N2. It was refluxed for about 20 minutes, then cooled, poured into ice-cold aqueous HCl solution, and extracted with ether. The extracts were washed with brine, dried over Na2SO4, filtered through a short silica gel pad and concentrated to give 16.2 g of a red oil which was used in the next reaction without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence