Abstract
Examination was made of the course of dihydroxylation using methyl oleate as a model substance. A. periodical samples taken during reaction were treated by a methyl alcohol/sulfuric acid mixture to convert the residual epoxide intermediate and acetoxy-hydroxy esters (parent dihydroxy ester) into hydroxy-methoxy and dihydroxystearates, respectively. Capillary gas liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify and elucidate chemical structures. 13C-NMR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy was conducted for further confirmation of structure in pure compound. Dihydroxystearate in 71.2 % yield (correspoding to 87.7 % methyl oleate conversion) was obtained in a short reaction period of 50 min, when the reaction was catalyzed with Amberlite IR-120.
