General and Efficient Transesterification of β-Keto Esters with Various Alcohols Using Et₃N as a Brønsted Base Additive

Abstract

Transesterification of β-keto esters with a wide variety of allyl, benzyl, propargyl, and alkyl alcohols using, for the first time, commercially available and inexpensive Et₃N as a Brønsted base additive, is efficiently performed in toluene at reflux. The corresponding esters are exclusively obtained in 57–98% yields with no trace amounts of γ,δ-ketones, usually expected from the decarboxylative Carroll rearrangement.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Alcohols
• Brønsted base
• β-keto esters
• transesterification