4-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid (10.0 g, 65.7 mmol), anhydrous ethanol (120 mL), and concentrated hydrochloric acid (1 mL) were added to a round bottom flask. The reaction mixture was heated to reflux for 1 h and subsequently cooled to room temperature. The reaction mixture was neutralized in a small amount with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution. Most of the ethanol was evaporated under reduced pressure. The aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate and the organic phase was sequentially washed well with water and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure to give the target product ethyl p-hydroxyphenylacetate as an oil (11.8 g, 100% yield). The product was confirmed by NMR hydrogen spectrum (400 MHz, CDCl3): δ 7.13 (d, 2H), 6.76 (d, 2H), 5.10 (s, 1H), 4.15 (q, 2H), 3.36 (s, 2H), 1.26 (t, 3H).
