<2-l-1> Preparation of ethyl 3-(3-nitrophenyl)-3-oxopropionate: Monoethyl malonate potassium salt (21.4 g, 126 mmol) was suspended in acetonitrile (150 mL) at 0 °C. Triethylamine (18.3 mL, 132 mmol) and magnesium chloride (14.2 g, 149 mmol) were added sequentially, followed by stirring at room temperature under nitrogen protection for 150 min. M-nitrobenzoyl chloride (11.1 g, 59.8 mmol) was added slowly and stirring was continued at room temperature for 16 hours. After completion of the reaction, the solvent was removed by concentration under reduced pressure, the reaction was quenched by the addition of 1N HCl solution (100 mL) and extracted with ethyl acetate (100 mL x 2). The organic layers were combined, washed with water (100 mL) and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. After filtration, the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and purified by column chromatography (n-hexane/ethyl acetate, 4/1) to afford ethyl 3-nitrobenzoylacetate (14.1 g, 95%) as a light yellow solid.
