Hi all,
I have tried four times in the past few weeks to synthesise 2-ethoxyvinyl phosphonyl dichloride by reacting ethyl vinyl ether with phosphorus pentachloride in toluene. I have been following the literature procedure successfully up to the point where it says that I need to bubble sulfur dioxide through the reaction mixture - at which point it will turn clear. The reaction turns a clear yellow color; the next step is where I'm at my wit's end - the literature says to obtain the 2-ethoxyvinyl phosphonyl dichloride by direct distillation and every time I've tried this, it's resulted in a black, opaque solution. The literature does not say what color the final product is although my supervisor has said that it should be a yellow oil. I'm thinking that it could have decomposed upon heating, although the boiling point according to the literature is 142C and the bp of toluene is 110. Previously I tried the same reaction in CCl4, which distilled off at 76C and also turned black.
I would really appreciate help on this, since it's part of my final year project and I only have a handful of lab sessions left to finish this. Thank you in advance! (Also, I've attached an image of the literature procedure below if it might be helpful).
- Confused Student