Synthesizing 4′,4″(5″) Di- tert-butyldibenzo 18-crown-6 Monitored by Online FTIR.

4′,4″(5″) Di- tert-butyldibenzo 18-crown-6 (DTBB18C6) was successfully synthesized by SN2 with 4- tert-butyl catechol as starting material. Effects of reagents, solvents, and templates were investigated. Reaction process was monitored by the real-time online FTIR to study the actual reaction route. The highest DTBB18C6 yield (above 33%) was obtained by using Cs2CO3 as the template, 2,2′-diethylene glycol ditosylate as the reagent, and THF as the solvent. From the result of FTIR, four different reaction stages of DTBB18C6 synthesis process were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]