4-Coumaric acid → p-Coumaric acid ethyl ester

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 10 g 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, 100 ml ethanol and 0.5 ml concentrated sulphuric acid was heated under gentle reflux for 96 hours. The reaction mixture was poured onto water, the resultant precipitate filtered off, washed with portions of water and then dried. The residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using ethyl acetate as eluent and recrystallisation from acetonitrile to yield 9.2 g of ethyl (E)-4-hydroxycinnamate.

Provenance & Evidence