Synthesis
The general procedure for the synthesis of ethyl 2-nitrophenylacetate from ethanol and o-nitrophenylacetic acid was as follows: 2-(2'-nitrophenyl)acetic acid (18.1 g, 0.1 mol) was dissolved in a 95% ethanol solution (200 mL), and the reaction system was kept at a low temperature of 8 °C. Subsequently, 98% concentrated hydrochloric acid (20 mL) was slowly added dropwise to the above solution to form a reaction mixture. The mixture was stirred for 1 hour, then heated and refluxed on a water bath for 4 hours, after which stirring was continued at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. The progress of the reaction was monitored by thin layer chromatography (TLC) to confirm the completion of the reaction. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction solution was concentrated under vacuum to remove ethanol. Ice water was slowly added to the concentrated residue, followed by multiple extractions with chloroform (CHCl3). The organic phases were combined, dried by adding anhydrous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum to remove the chloroform to give a yellow bulk solid, ethyl 2-(2'-nitrophenyl)acetate (16.9 g, yield: 81%).
References
[1] European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2013, # 16, p. 3232 - 3240
[2] Australian Journal of Chemistry, 2013, vol. 66, # 8, p. 864 - 873
[3] Heterocycles, 1996, vol. 43, # 12, p. 2701 - 2712
[4] Patent: US2015/182491, 2015, A1. Location in patent: Paragraph 0069
[5] Chemische Berichte, 1898, vol. 31, p. 394
