Abstract
The acylation of alcohols with acyl chlorides in aqueous base leads to the production of corresponding esters and salts. The use of biphasic aqueous basic conditions is often named Schotten-Baumann condition. We apply the Schotten-Baumann condition to the hydroxy acylation reaction of water-soluble polysaccharides such as amylose and pectin. These polysaccharides were easily converted to benzoyl compounds by reacting with hydroxyl groups and benzoyl chloride in saturated Na2CO3 aqueous solution. The aryl polysaccharide compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and MALDI TOF MS spectroscopy. These measurement results showed characteristic peaks for polysaccharides and aryl groups. These reactions can be achieved under waterborne conditions with simple handling and without using poisonous organic solvents.
