The Preparation of Mixed Ketones by Heating the Mixed Calcium Salts of Organic Acids
HTML by Rhodium & Metanoid
The method of heating a calcium salt in a sulfur vapor bath so as to form the corresponding ketone and continuously remove the ketone as soon as it's formed by a current of carbon dioxide1, gave such remarkably good results in the case of dibenzyl ketone that it seemed desirable to test its general applicability, and, in particular, to extend the method to the case of mixtures of calcium salts.
The acids first employed were acetic and phenylacetic. On heating mixtures of the calcium salts of these two acids, all three possible condensation product ketones are formed; acetone, phenylacetone, and dibenzyl ketone are obtained, and as their respective boiling points are 56, 217 and 330°C, there is no difficulty in separating them by fractional distillation. Subsequently, calcium phenylacetate was distilled with calcium propionate and with calcium butyrate respectively. The fractionation of the ketones obtained from these salts was again quite an easy operation.
The preparation was carried out with various proportions of the two salts, starting with a slight excess of calcium phenylacetate, then using molecular proportions of the two, and, later, increasing the proportion of acetate.
In the first distillation, 20 g of calcium acetate, previously well dried by heating in an air-bath to 140°C, were thoroughly mixed and ground in a mortar with 45 g of dry calcium phenylacetate, the latter weight being 5 g in excess of the calculated quantity required to form a molecular mixture.
The mixed salts were placed in a parting flask and heated to the temperature of boiling sulphur [444°C] and a current of washed and dried carbon dioxide was passed through and maintained until the decomposition was complete. During the heating, there was just a little frothing, but although the mass became viscid and semi-transparent it did not become quite liquid. The ketone collected in the capillary tube in columns which were carried over into the receiver by the current of carbon dioxide. Towards the end of the distillation, the product became darker and white fumes was evolved, which with difficulty condensed to form a dark-colored oil.
Exp. No. |
Calcium Acetate |
Calcium Phenyl- acetate |
Phenylacetone Yield |
|
Net Yield |
Per 100g of Calcium Phenylacetate |
|||
1 |
20 g |
45 g |
18.0 g |
40.0 g |
2 |
20 g |
40 g |
17.0 g |
42.5 g |
3 |
25 g |
35 g |
13.0 g |
37.0 g |
4 |
30 g |
30 g |
15.0 g |
50.0 g |
5 |
30 g |
30 g |
15.5 g |
52.0 g |
From a practical point of view, the figures in Table IX show that the best yield of mixed ketone obtainable from a given weight of the more expensive salt, in this case calcium phenylacetate, is obtained by using a large excess of the cheaper salt.
The increase in the yield shown in Exp. 5 as compared with that in Exp. 1 is sufficiently marked. The intermediate stages are fairly well represented by the figures as displayed, with the exception of Exp. 3, owing to the fact that in this experiment the yield of all three ketones was poor. There is little doubt that the average number of experiments would have yielded a value nearer 45% than 37% when the errors due to a single experiment were eliminated. The yield of phenyl-2-propanone in Exp. 5 is 59%, based on phenylacetic acid.