Hydrochloric Acid → Furaneol

Participants

Reaction Steps

A solution of 48 g of sodium hydroxide and 37.2 g of ethyl 5-methyl-3,4-dihydroxy-2-furoate of 98.4% purity in 225 ml of water was allowed to stand at room temperature for 40 hours. The mixture was diluted with 200 g of water and 22.8 g of gaseous methyl bromide was added with stirring over a period of one hour at room temperature followed by an additional stirring period of two hours. The pH of the solution was adjusted to 5 by the addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid solution. Extraction with methyl t-butyl ether yielded 21.5 9 of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3[2H] furanone of 95.3% purity (molar yield 81.4%).

Provenance & Evidence