5-Methyl-4-isoxazolecarboxylic acid

51135-73-0

42831-50-5

Example 4 Preparation of 5-methylisoxazole-4-carboxylic acid To a two-necked flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer and a horizontal condenser for distillation were added 40.0 g of crude ethyl 5-methyl-4-isoxazolecarboxylate and 44 g of 60% sulfuric acid solution. The mixture was heated to 85°C while the ethanol generated from the reaction was continuously distilled. After 4 hours of reaction, thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed complete disappearance of spots of ester compounds. After cooling the reaction mixture to room temperature, the solid product (16.5 g) was collected by filtration. The filtrate was retained for a second product collection at room temperature. The resulting crude acid was dissolved in 60 mL of 2% acetic acid-toluene mixed solvent and crystallized to give 5-methylisoxazole-4-carboxylic acid (9.5 g) of about 99.9% purity. The crystallized mother liquor was retained for subsequent batch processing. The crystallization process was performed as follows: the crude acid was added to 2% acetic acid-toluene solvent mixture and heated for 30 minutes until dissolved. Separate and remove the brown oil from the bottom of the flask. The upper clear organic phase was carefully transferred to another container and left to crystallize.