Ethylene Glycol → Methyl 2-(2-isopropyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-yl)acetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a solution of methyl 4-methyl-3-oxopentanoate (72 g, 0.5 mol) and ethylene glycol (56 g, 1 mol) in toluene (500 mL) was added 4-methylbenzenesulfonic acid (1.9 g, 0.01 mol). The mixture was stirred at reflux with a Dean-Stark trap to remove water. The reaction mixture was washed with a small amount of water and brine, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuum to give the crude (2-isopropyl-[1,3]dioxolan-2-yl)-acetic acid methyl ester (67 g 71% yield), which was used for the next step without further purification.

Provenance & Evidence