ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Efficient synthesis of glutaric acid from L-glutamic acid via diazoniation/hydrogenation sequence

Wei Zhang, Meng-Yun Rao, Zhong-Jun Cheng, Xiao-Yan Zhu, Kai Gao, Jian Yang, Bo Yang, and Xia-Li Liao

Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China

E-mail: xlliao@yahoo.com

Abstract: The practical synthetic preparation of glutaric acid has remained a major challenge to date. In the present study, glutaric acid was synthesised by way of one-pot diazoniation/hydrogenation of the readily available L-glutamic acid under aqueous conditions on a gram-scale with good yields. This is the first example of the deamination of the aliphatic primary amine via diazoniation and could afford a practical approach to the production of glutaric acid.

Keywords: glutaric acid – L-glutamic acid – diazoniation/hydrogenation – sodium nitrite – hypophosphorous acid

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2015-0067

Chemical Papers 69 (5) 716–721 (2015)