Hydrochloric Acid → Dibenzoylmethane

Participants

Reaction Steps

Methanol (0.26 ml, 6.4 mmol) and sodium (0.14 g, 6.1 mmol) were combined in xylene (60 ml) and stirred for 20 min at room temperature. Methyl benzoate (49, 2.47 ml, 19.7 mmol) and acetophenone (0.58 ml, 5.0 mmol) were added and the mixture stirred for 6 hr at 140° C. The mixture was cooled to room temperature and hydrochloric acid (10 ml, 6 N) was added and stirred for 15 min. The resulting mixture was extracted into ethyl acetate, washed twice with water, twice with saturated sodium bicarbonate and twice with water. The ethyl acetate was dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and evaporated to afford an oil. The crude oil was chromatographed on silica gel with ethyl acetate/hexane to give a solid. The solid was recrystallized from methanol to give 0.71 g (63%) of a pink-orange solid: mp 70-71° C. [expected mp 77-78° C.]; 1H NMR: δ 6.85 (s, 1H), 7.51 (m, 6H), 7.98 (d, 4H, J=6.8 Hz); 13C NMR: δ 93.1, 127.1, 128.6, 132.4, 135.5, 185.6.

Provenance & Evidence