Synthesis of n-Butyl Chloroacetate Catalyzed by Stannic Chloride Pentahydrate

n-Butyl chloroacetate was synthesized from chloroacetic acid and n-butanol using stannic chloride pentahydrate as a catalyst. The experimental results indicated that stannic chloride pentahydrate exhibited high catalytic activity for the esterification reaction. The appropriate reaction conditions were as follows: chloroacetic acid was 100mmol, n(chloroacetic acid) ∶n(n-butanol)∶n~(SnCl_4· 5H_2O)=1.0 ∶1.5 ∶0.029, refluxing and water segrating for 90 min. The yield of the ester was 91.3% under the selected reaction conditions.