A process for producing a 2-aralkyl-3-hydroxypropionic acid (or its ester) comprises the steps of:
reacting a 3-hydroxy-2-methylene-3-arylpropionic acid ester (which may be easily obtained by the reaction of an arylaldehyde with an acrylic acid ester), with an acid anhydride to form a 2-aralkylidene-3-acyloxypropionic acid ester;
subjecting the same to hydrolysis or alcoholysis; and
reducing the resulting 2-aralkylidene-3-hydroxypropionic acid or its ester. Especially, the presence of a base in the reduction step greatly improves the yield thereof.
By the use of this process, 2-aralkyl-3-hydroxypropionic acid (or its ester), which are important as intermediates in various industrial syntheses, may be produced safely and easily on an industrial scale.
生产 2-烷基-
3-羟基丙酸(或其酯)的工艺包括以下步骤
将 3-羟基-2-亚甲基-3-芳基
丙酸酯(可通过芳基醛与
丙烯酸酯的反应轻松获得)与酸酐反应,形成 2-芳基亚甲基-
3-乙酰氧基丙酸酯;
将其
水解或醇解;以及
还原生成的 2-亚烷基-
3-羟基丙酸或其酯。特别是在还原步骤中加入碱,可大大提高产率。
通过使用这种工艺,可以安全、简便地在工业规模上生产作为各种工业合成中重要中间体的 2-亚烷基-
3-羟基丙酸(或其酯)。