Synthesis of benzyl cinnamate catalyzed by benzyltriethylammoniumchloride under microwave irradiation

With sodium cinnamate and benzyl chloride as raw material, benzyltriethylammonium chloride as catalyst, we synthsized benzyl cinnamate directly under normal pressure and microwave irradiation. We studied the effects of amount of catalyst on the yield of the product, power and time of microwave irradiation on the yield of the product. The most suitable reaction conditions are that the mole ratio of sodium cinnamate and benzyl chloride is (1.0∶1.2,) the amount of benzyltriethylammonium chloride is 1.0 g(per 0.05 mol sodium cinnamate), and the microwave irradiation time is 40 min with the power of 300 W. Under these conditions the yield of benzyl cinnamate is over 81%.