Diethyl diethylmalonate or diethyl 2,2-diethylmalonate is a derivative of
diethyl malonate
Diethyl malonate, also known as DEM, is the diethyl ester of malonic acid. It occurs naturally in grapes and strawberries as a colourless liquid with an apple-like odour, and is used in perfumes. It is also used to synthesize other compounds ...
.
It can be used in the synthesis of
barbital
Barbital (or barbitone), sold under the brand names Veronal for the pure acid and Medinal for the sodium salt, was the first commercially available barbiturate. It was used as a sleeping aid (hypnotic) from 1903 until the mid-1950s. The chemical ...
.
Uses
As being a
diethyl malonate
Diethyl malonate, also known as DEM, is the diethyl ester of malonic acid. It occurs naturally in grapes and strawberries as a colourless liquid with an apple-like odour, and is used in perfumes. It is also used to synthesize other compounds ...
derivative, it can be combined with
urea
Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...
under the action of a strong base to form a
barbiturate
Barbiturates are a class of depressant, depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medication, medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological a ...
. In this case, diethyl diethylmalonate plus urea forms
barbital
Barbital (or barbitone), sold under the brand names Veronal for the pure acid and Medinal for the sodium salt, was the first commercially available barbiturate. It was used as a sleeping aid (hypnotic) from 1903 until the mid-1950s. The chemical ...
under the action of
sodium ethoxide
Sodium ethoxide, also referred to as sodium ethanolate, is the Ionic compound, ionic, organic compound with the formula , , or NaOEt (Et = ethyl group, ethyl). It is a white solid, although impure samples appear yellow or brown. It dissolves in p ...
.
:
References
Malonate esters
Ethyl esters
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