Synthesis
GENERAL METHOD: Ethoxycarbonylmethylenetriphenylphosphine (1.55 g, 4.46 mmol) was added to a stirred solution of 4-benzyloxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde (0.73 g, 3.72 mmol) in benzene (10 mL). The reaction mixture was then refluxed for 4 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: ethyl acetate/petroleum ether, 1:19) to afford the target product ethyl (E)-3-(4-(benzyloxy)-3-methoxyphenyl)acrylate (0.89 g, 90% yield) as a white solid.
References
[1] European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015, vol. 2015, # 33, p. 7344 - 7351
[2] Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 2011, vol. 22, # 24, p. 2124 - 2133
[3] Turkish Journal of Chemistry, 2010, vol. 34, # 3, p. 375 - 380
[4] Mendeleev Communications, 2010, vol. 20, # 3, p. 151 - 152
[5] Chemical Papers, 2010, vol. 64, # 5, p. 630 - 636
