Sulfuric Acid → Hexanoic acid, 6-hydroxy-, methyl ester

Participants

Reaction Steps

ε-Caprolactone (12.50 g, 109.51 mM) was dissolved in methanol (125 ml), and a sulfuric acid solution (1 ml, 0.01 mM) was slowly added thereto. The resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 days. After the completion of reaction, methanol was removed under reduced pressure, and then ice water was poured into the residue. The resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl ether. The organic layer was separated, washed with an aqueous saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and brine in order and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue thus obtained was subjected to a silica gel column chromatography (eluent: ethyl acetate/n-hexane=1/2) to obtain 10.18 g of the title compound (yield 64%).

Provenance & Evidence