Hydrochloric Acid → 4-Oxo-4-phenoxybutanoic acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Phenol (1.88 g, 20.0 mmol) was dissolved in a solution of sodium carbonate (anhydrous) (1.06 g, 10.0 mmol) in water (20 ml) and cooled to 0° C. Succinic anhydride (2.00 g, 20.0 mmol) was added and the suspension was allowed to stir at 0° C. for 1 h. The reaction mixture was gradually warmed to room temperature and stirred over night. The clear solution was cooled to 0° C. and acidified to pH 0 (addition of 1M aqueous HCl). The reaction mixture was extracted with chloroform (3×25 ml), dried over Na2SO4, filtered and the solvent removed under reduced pressure to obtain a white solid (1.63 g, 8.4 mmol, 42%). The product was used without any further purification.

Provenance & Evidence