Due to their reactivity, oxazolones make excellent starting substrates in diversity oriented synthesis for discovering new synthetic pathways for the formation of amino acid and heterocyclic products. Using the Erlenmeyer azlactone synthesis, I synthesized 4-(2-bromobenzylidene)-2-phenyloxazolone, using hippuric acid and 2-bromobenzaldehyde as starting substrates in the presence of acetic anhydride and potassium acetate. I converted the product to methyl 2-N-benzamido-3-(2-bromophenyl) acrylate by adding triethylamine in methanol. I finished the process with the hydrogenation of the obtained acrylate in methanol with 10 mol% of the catalyst tris(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium(II) dichloride. The final product was methyl 2-N-benzamido-3-(2-bromophenyl) propanoate. I found the method of synthesis to be sufficiently repeatable, and has good efficiencies at all steps.
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