Question

Question: What alkyl halides are needed to prepare each ketone using the acetoacetic ester synthesis?

Short answer

Answer

The alkyl halides needed to prepare each ketone using the acetoacetic ester synthesis are shown below.

Step-by-step solution

Acetoacetic ester reaction

The acetoacetic ester synthesis is a method required for the conversion of ethyl acetoacetate into a ketone having one or two alkyl groups on the $\alpha$ -carbon. It is a 3-step process deprotonation reaction that takes place first, followed by alkylation with the alkylating agent, and the last step is hydrolysis and deprotonation.

Retrosynthetic pathway for obtaining the starting materials 

To obtain the starting materials, a retrosynthetic analysis is followed, as shown below.

Representation of the retrosynthetic approach of the product

Forward pathway for obtaining the product

To obtain the product, a forward reaction scheme analysis is followed, as shown below.

Reaction a

Reaction b.

Reaction c