Methanol → Benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-4-methyl-, methyl ester

Participants

Reaction Steps

A mixture of 2-hydroxy-4-methylbenzoic acid (100.0 g, 657.2 mmol), concentrated sulfuric acid (50 mL) in methanol (1000 mL) was refluxed for 20 hours under nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was poured into ice-water, extracted with ethyl acetate (1000 mL). The organic layer was washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate, brine, dried over sodium sulfate, concentrated in vacuo to afford 109 g of the crude product of methyl 2-hydroxy-4-methylbenzoate as light brown oil, which was used directly in the next step without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence