Abstract
It was reported by A. KAUFMANN that sodium phenylglycidate was prepared by the action of hydrogen peroxide upon cinnamaldehyde in the presence of sodium hydroxide and then decarboxy-lated to phenylacetaldehyde by acid. The author has studied this synthetic method for phenylacetaldehyde in details.
(1) The oxidation is carried out in water, methylalcohol and acetone and sodium phenylglycidate can be acquired in the yield of 48.5%, 61.6% and 65.5% of the theoretical, respectively.
(2) Sodium phenylglycidate is converted to phenylacetaldehyde under the inflnence of both sulfuric and oxalic acids, giving a 50% yield equally.
