Process for production of phenyllactic acid derivative
AssigneeNitto Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
InventorsHikari Morita, Hiroyuki Mori
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Abstract
A process for producing a phenyllactic acid derivative comprises hydrogenating a phenylpyruvic acid derivative in the presence of a catalyst containing at least one element selected from the Group VIII elements of the periodic table. The process provides a phenyllactic acid derivative useful as an intermediate in the production of pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. The process uses as a starting material a phenylpyruvic acid derivative which is easily synthesized. The process is simpler in operation and provides a higher yield than conventional processes.
Claims4
A process for producing a phenyllactic acid derivative represented by formula (1):
- ##STR5## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a straight-chain or branched alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a straight-chain or branched alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are linked to form a methylenedioxy group;
- and R.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a straight-chain or branched alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, which comprises hydrogenating a phenylpyruvic acid derivative represented by formula (2):
- ##STR6## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a straight-chain or branched alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a straight-chain or branched alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are linked to form a methylenedioxy group;
- and R.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a straight-chain or branched alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, in the presence of a catalyst comprising at least one element selected from the group consisting of palladium, platinum, rhodium and cobalt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.