Abstract:
A method of separating a purified 2-fluoro-3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester as a reaction product from a liquid reaction mixture obtained by fluorinating a 3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester, characterized by comprising removing the hydrogen fluoride yielded as a by-product from the liquid reaction mixture and then separating the 2-fluoro-3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester by distillation. Thus, a high-purity 2-fluoro-3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester, which is useful as an intermediate for medicines and agricultural chemicals, can be separated from the liquid reaction mixture resulting from the fluorination of a 3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester.
Abstract:
A process for preparing 2-fluoro-3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid esters by fluorinating a 3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester with fluorine gas, characterized in that the concentration of the 3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester in the reaction fluid is kept at 3 wt% or above; and a process for purifying 2-fluoro-3- oxoalkylcarboxylic acid esters, characterized by washing a product of fluorination of a 3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester with at least thrice as much water as the substrate to thereby obtain a purified 2-fluoro-3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid ester in a high yield. According to these processes, high-purity 2-fluoro-3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid esters useful as intermediates for drugs or agricultural chemicals can be efficiently prepared through inhibition of by-product formation or efficient purification of products of fluorination of 3-oxoalkylcarboxylic acid esters.