Acetic Acid → Methyl 5-bromo-2-methoxy-4-methylbenzoate

Participants

Reaction Steps

A 250 ml 3-neck RBF fitted with a magnetic stirring bar, a thermometer and a dropping funnel was charged with methyl 2-methoxy-4-methylbenzoate 10b (10 g, 0.056 mol) and AcOH (70 mL). To this solution bromine (3 mL, 0.06 mol) was added drop-wise while maintaining the reaction temperature below 25° C. When bromine addition was complete, the reaction mixture was stirred at RT for 2 hours, then poured into 600 mL of cold water and the pH was adjusted to 8-9 with Na2CO3. The crude product was extracted with Et2O (3×300 mL), the combined extracts washed with brine, dried over sodium sulfate and the solvent was removed under vacuum to give methyl 5-bromo-2-methoxy-4-methylbenzoate as an orange oil, which solidified on standing (14.3 g, 99% yield, >90% purity by 1H NMR).

Provenance & Evidence