Synthesis of bis(2,4-dichloropheny)oxalate did not go as planned. 20 mmol of the phenol in 35 ml DCM were used with 20 mmol 2M triethylamine and 10 mmol 1M oxalyl chloride. reaction was refluxed for an hour at rtp and left stirring overnight. very little product was formed and all starting materials were found in the final extracted, evaporated product. What could have gone wrong?
You can check the mmol of each reactant you have taken. Also see to it that the time you reflux and keep the compound for stirring is appropriate. You might require more time to get the product. Check the concentrations of the solutions you have added.
The most important thing is that before you proceed to extract the product, it is essential to check TLC of the reactants and the product and see to it whether the product has been formed in expected quantity. TLC would help you to optimise the reaction conditions since here you would require lot of trial and error methods. Moreover be very careful while you reflux DCM as it has a very low boiling point it might lead to some accident.
Synthesis of bis(2,4-dichloropheny)oxalate did not go as planned. 20 mmol of the phenol in 35 ml...