Pentane → 1,3-Dioxolan-4-one, 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-5-phenyl-, (2R,5R)-

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Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

(R)-Mandelic acid (20 g, 130 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous pentane (200 mL, 1.7 mol). Pivaldehyde (13.6 g, 153 mmol) was added followed by trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (488 μL, 5.4 mmol). The mixture was allowed to reflux at 36° C. under nitrogen. After 5.5 hours, the mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature before stirring with 200 mL of an 8 wt % NaHCO3 solution for 10 minutes. Excess pentane was removed by rotary evaporation. The solids were collected by filtration and rinsed (100 mL water) while under vacuum filtration. The solids were dried overnight under high vacuum to yield 23.8 grams of intermediate (1a) as a white solid (88% purity).

Provenance & Evidence