Acetic Acid → Ethanone, 2-(acetyloxy)-1-phenyl-

Participants

Reaction Steps

Five grams of acetic acid are added to 25 mls. of water in a suitable vessel and carefully neutralized with 10% aqueous sodium hydroxide. A few drops of acetic acid are then added until the solution is just acid to litmus paper. Fifty milliliters of ethanol and 5 grams of phenacyl bromide are then added and the mixture is refluxed for 1 hour. If a solid separates during refluxing additional ethanol is added to dissolve the same. The solution is allowed to cool and the phenacyl acetate is recovered by filtration and purified by recrystallization from ethanol, m.p. 47°-48° C.

Provenance & Evidence