Abstract
FOR the synthesis of esters from carboxylic acids and alcohols or phenols, it is customary to heat the reactants for several hours in the presence of a strong mineral acid catalyst, or else to proceed via the acid chloride or the acid anhydride. We now report a method of esterifleation which obviates the necessity of a two-stage process and, at the same time, enables a rapid direct reaction to occur between the acid and the hydroxy-compound under mild conditions. The new method, which entails the use of the anhydride of trifluoracetic acid, gives the purified esters in yields of 60–90 per cent.
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STACEY, M., BOURNE, E., TATLOW, J. et al. A General Method of Esterification using Trifluoracetic Anhydride. Nature 164, 705 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/164705a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/164705a0
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