Diethyl Ether → 4-Methyl-2-methylene valeric acid

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Reaction Steps

The crude product, ethyl 4-methyl-2-methylenepentanoate containing some ether, was dissolved in absolute ethanol (250 mL) and treated with acetonitrile (250 mL), 1 M LiOH (9.7 g in 250 mL of water, 0.23 mol). After stirring overnight, the organic solvents were evaporated under reduced pressure and the aqueous residue was extracted with ethyl acetate (2×150 mL). The combined extracts were washed with brine, dried over MgSO4 and concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 10.5 g of 4-methyl-2-methylenepentanoic acid as a colorless oil.

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