Hey I'm new to this forum. I'm very arrogant about my OChem knowledge, but alas I need help.
Reaction: 4'-fluorobenzalhyde refluxed for 6hrs with 10 mol% eq. of ammonium acetate, 1.2 eq. of nitroethane and 20 wt. % of IPA, (IPA is the solvent) yielding around 85%
4-(fluorophenyl)-2-nitropropene.
I did a retrosynthetic analysis of this reaction, and it is very perplexing to say the least. The reaction involves several "denotions" of electrons. Is this synthesis even feasible? I found it online somewhere, but I can't recall where. I'm baffled about a methyl group and what happens to the β-ketone.
Any help is MUCH obliged!