I’m trying to synthesize a symmetrical 1,4-dihydropyridine ester compound via Hantzsch reaction with microwave using ethylene glycol as the solvent. A literature said that the compound is a pure oil, and not much information besides that. After 30 minutes of reaction (not complete as monitored by TLC), there is some orange gummy product formed on the base of the round-bottom flask. TLC shows that there are a lot of spots at this point, I’m not sure if they are side products or unreacted intermediates. After extending the reaction time to 60 minutes, I decided to stop the reaction and try to workup the mixture. I’m quite sure that my intended compound is in the gummy product, but TLC of the gummy product still shows a lot of spots similar to the 30 minute TLC. I found that the gum completely dissolves in acetone, DCM, and ethyl acetate, and it is insoluble in water and hexane. Do you have any tips to purify my desired compound from this gummy product? Thanks in advance.
You can try separating your component of interest using a separatory funnel using one of the solvents - acetone, DCM, and ethyl acetate - i would say the one it is most soluble in - after which the solvent is vacuum evaporated.
Hi Samuel,
Have you tried vacuum distillation or recrystallization? And silica gel columns are also a commonly used method for separation.
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