Hydrochloric Acid → HCID 21855806, compound

Participants

Reaction Steps

To 202 ml of 2.9 M phenylmagnesium bromide in ether (0.585 mol) was added 100 ml of ether. Then, 66.1 g (0.585 mol) of ethyl cyanoacetate was added over a few minutes with stirring at -40° to -15°. A heavy, thick precipitate formed that made stirring difficult. The mixture was allowed to warm slowly to 20°. Then, the Grignard reagent prepared from 100 g (0.585 mol) of 3-bromotoluene and 14.4 g (0.593 mol) of magnesium turnings in 300 ml of ether was added. The mixture was stirred at reflux for 4 hours, cooled, and poured slowly with stirring into 1 l. of ice-water mixture in which 62.6 g (1.17 mol) of NH4Cl was dissolved. Then, an ice-cold solution of 1.17 mol of HCl in 300 ml of water was added with stirring. The two layers were shaken together and separated. The aqueous layer was extracted with two 200-ml portions of ether. The ether layers were combined, dried (CaSO4), and concentrated under aspirator vacuum to 112.0 g of oil that contained 78.4 g (65% yield) of product (gas chromatography assay with internal standard). The oil was distilled to give 83.2 g of 89% pure product (62% yield of ester), boiling point 120°-130° (0.08 torr). Redistillation of the product through a fractionating column gave 57.2 g (48%) of 97% pure product, boiling point 118° (0.05 torr). A small sample was redistilled to give 100% pure material, boiling point 118° (0.1 torr).

Provenance & Evidence