Hydrochloric Acid → tert-Butyl 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybutanoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

At 0° C., 1.05 g (27.6 mmol) of sodium borohydride were added a little at a time to a solution of 5.20 g (27.6 mmol) of tert-butyl 4-methoxy-2-oxobutanoate in 68.5 ml of methanol. The reaction mixture was stirred for another 5 min, 5 ml of water were added and the pH was adjusted to 6 using aqueous hydrochloric acid (1N). Methanol was removed under reduced pressure at 30° C. and the aqueous phase that remained was extracted three times with 50 ml of diethyl ether. The combined organic phases were dried over magnesium sulphate and filtered, and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure (25° C., 70 mbar). Yield: 4.48 g (77% of theory)

Provenance & Evidence