(B) A mixture of ethyl (E)-3-(4-formylphenyl)acrylate (2 g, 9.79 mmol), Pd/C (1 g, 10 wt%), and ethanol (50 mL) was placed in an autoclave reactor and hydrogenated for 2 h at 3.5 atm hydrogen pressure. Upon completion of the reaction, the catalyst was removed by filtration. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and the resulting residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: 0-15% ethyl acetate/petroleum ether) to afford ethyl 3-(4-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl)propionate (1.54 g, 76% yield) as a colorless liquid.LC/MS analysis: calculated value (C12H16O3) 208.25, measured value 191.0 [M-OH] +.
