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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Synthesis of Esters Via a Greener Steglich Esterification in Acetonitrile
Published on: October 30, 2018
Enzymatic synthesis of cinnamic acid derivatives
Gia-Sheu Lee1, Arief Widjaja, Yi-Hsu Ju
1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43 Keelung Road, Section 4, Taipei 106-07, Taiwan.
Abstract:
Using Novozym 435 as catalyst, the syntheses of ethyl ferulate (EF) from ferulic acid (4-hydroxy 3-methoxy cinnamic acid) and ethanol, and octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) from p-methoxycinnamic acid and 2-ethyl hexanol were successfully carried out in this study. A conversion of 87% was obtained within 2 days at 75 degrees C for the synthesis of EF. For the synthesis of OMC at 80 degrees C, 90% conversion can be obtained within 1 day. The use of solvent and high reaction temperature resulted in better conversion for the synthesis of cinnamic acid derivatives. Some cinnamic acid esters could also be obtained with higher conversion and shorter reaction times in comparison to other methods reported in the literature. The enzyme can be reused several times before significant activity loss was observed.
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