Hydrochloric Acid → HCID 20282962, compound

Participants

Reaction Steps

Aluminium chloride (112 g) was slowly added over one hour to a stirred mixture of o-propylanisole (60 g), glutaric anhydride (50.5 g), tetrachloroethane (880 ml) and nitrobenzene (200 ml) maintained between 3°-4°. The mixture was stirred for two days and then poured into dilute hydrochloric acid. The organic phase was steam distilled, and the residue remaining was extracted with ether, which was then extracted with sodium bicarbonate solution. Acidification and crystallisation from ethylacetate-light petroleum (bp 60°-80°) gave 5-oxo-5-(4-methoxy-3-propylphenyl)pentanoic acid (70 g), mp 105°-106°. This acid was refluxed with zinc amalgam (270 g), dioxan (300 ml), toluene (300 ml), and concentrated hydrochloric acid (100 ml) for two days. Extraction with ether and subsequent evaporation gave an oil, which crystallised from cyclohexane to give 5-(4-methoxy-3-propylphenyl)pentanoic acid (36 g), mp 84°. This acid was esterified with methanol and concentrated sulphuric acid, and the methyl ester so obtained (26 g) was added to a stirred suspension of lithium aluminium hydride (3 g) in tetrahydrofuran at 0°. The mixture was refluxed for 3 hours, cooled, treated with water, and extracted with ether, which on evaporation gave the title alcohol (16 g), mp 34.5°-35°.

Provenance & Evidence