Water → Ethyl 2-benzyl-3-hydroxybutyrate

Participants

Reaction Steps

0.05 Mol of NaBH4 and 0.4 g of NaOH were added into 25 ml of water. While cooling the reactor in ice bath, a mixture of 0.07 mol of ethyl 2-benzyl-3-oxo-butyrate and 30 ml of methanol was added dropwise with stirring, and the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 5 hours. After removing the solvent, the product was extracted with ethyl acetate, and the extract was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4. Removing the solvent gave a colorless liquid of 0.06 mol. Yield 85%.

Provenance & Evidence