Methanol → Ethyl N-(methoxycarbonyl)glycinate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of phosgene (70.4 g, 0.71 mole) in dry toluene (300 ml), a mixture of glycine ethyl ester hydrochloride (99.1 g, 0.71 mole) and triethylamine (158 g, 1.56 mole) was slowly added at 0° C. The reaction was exothermic. After 2 hrs. of stirring, anhydrous methanol was added to the reaction mixture and stirring was continued for another 0.5 hrs. The reaction mixture was partitioned between water and chloroform, then the pH of the solution was adjusted to 4 with concentrated HCl. The chloroform layer was dried and the solvent was evaporated to obtain the N-carbomethoxy glycine ethyl ester with the structure being confirmed by spectroscopy.

Provenance & Evidence