Bromoacetic Acid → 2-Naphthoxyacetic acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

In a two-neck flask provided with a condenser and placed under an inert atmosphere, 2-naphthol (3.0 g, 20 mmol) is dissolved in 95 mL of methylethylketone (MEK) in the presence of soda (40 g, 93 mmol), and then heated to 50° C. for 30 minutes. 2-bromoethanoic acid (5.76 g, 41 mmol) dissolved in 23 mL of MEK is added dropwise under hot conditions. The heating is maintained for a further 4 hours. The reaction medium is cooled to room temperature and then filtered. The solid collected by filtration is taken up in a mixture of ethyl acetate and of 1N HCl in water. Both phases are separated and the aqueous phase is extracted once with ethyl acetate. The organic phases are collected, dried on magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated until the first crystals appear. Heptane is added (about 20% of the remaining volume), and the formed precipitate is recovered, rinsed with heptane and dried until it has constant weight in order to obtain 3.04 g (72%) of (naphthalen-2-yloxy)acetic acid as a white solid.

Provenance & Evidence