Ethyl 2-methylacetoacetate → Ethyl 3-hydroxy-2-methylbutyrate

Participants

Reaction Steps

To a 6 L Erlenmeyer flask containing Baker's yeast (100 g) and sucrose (150 g) was added tap water (1000 mL) and the reaction mixture was mechanically stirred at room temperature for 0.5 h. Ethyl 2-methylacetoacetate (10 g, 0.0694 mol) was added to the reaction mixture and stirring continued for 24 h. Sucrose (50 g) was added and stirring continued for another 24 h. Hyflo super cel (50 g) was added to the reaction mixture and filtered through a sintered glass funnel. The aqueous solution was then extracted with ether (1.5 L), dried over sodium sulfate, and filtered. The solvent ether was removed via simple distillation to obtain ethyl 3-hydroxy-2-methylbutyrate (10 g, 100%) as a mixture of two isomers: 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 1.18-1.30 (18H, m), 2.47-2.52 (2H, m), 3.85-3.91 (1H, m), 4.05-4.10 (1H, m), 4.13-4.21 (4H, m).

Provenance & Evidence