Formic Acid → Ethyl 3-(4-cyanophenyl)propanoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Pd/C (0.6 g, 10%, 50% water wet) was added to a solution of ethyl (2E)-3-(4-cyanophenyl)-2-propenoate (2.7 g, 13.42 mmol) in ethyl acetate (40 mL) under an argon atmosphere. It was mixed with TEA (3.74 mL, 26.8 mmol) and formic acid (2.57 mL, 67.1 mmol). The reaction mixture was refluxed at 90° C. under argon for 1 h. It was filtered through a Celite pad. The filtrate was then washed with water, 5% NaHCO3 solution and brine, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated to provide the title compound as a pale yellow oil (2.65 g, 97% yield). LCMS: rt=2.94 min, [M+H+]=204.0

Provenance & Evidence