Cleavage of Esters under Nearly Neutral Conditions at High Pressure. Chemo- and Regioselective Hydrolysis in Organic Solvents

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00020a001

Hydrolysis of esters proceeded at room temperature under high pressure in the presence of iPr2NEt or N-methylmorpholine using CH3CN-H2O (60:1) as the solvent.This very mild procedure enables the smooth hydrolysis of biologically important compounds such as amino esters, aliphatic unsaturated fatty esters, and β-hydroxy esters; no racemization, no isomerization, and no side reactions take place.