Hydrochloric Acid → Methyl 4-(1-hydroxybutyl)benzoate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Formyl-benzoic acid methyl ester (1.00 g, 6.10 mmol) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (15 mL), under argon, and chilled to 0° C. A 2.0 M solution of propyl magnesium chloride in diethyl ether (3.05 mL, 6.1 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction continued to stir at 0° C. for 45 min. 1.0 M aqueous hydrochloric acid solution (10 mL) was added to the reaction and the solution stirred vigorously for 10 min. The solution was diluted with ethyl acetate (100 mL), washed with 1.0 M aqueous hydrochloric acid solution (20 mL), saturated aqueous brine solution (10 mL), dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to a clear oil. Purification by ISCO flash column chromatography (Teledyne Isco RediSep Flash Column 40 g; 0% ethyl acetate/hexanes to 25% ethyl acetate/hexanes) afforded 4-(1-hydroxy-butyl)-benzoic acid methyl ester (610 mg, 48%) as a clear oil: H1-NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ 0.94 (3H, t, J=7.2 Hz), 1.22-1.52 (2H, m), 1.62-1.84 (2H, m), 2.00 (1H, s), 3.91 (3H, s), 4.74 (1H, t, J=6.8 Hz), 7.40 (2H, d, J=8.4 Hz), 7.99 (2H, d, J=8.0 Hz).

Provenance & Evidence