Synthesis of Methyl α-Naphthyl Acetate by Microwave Radiation on FeCl_3·6H_2O Catalyst

Methyl α-naphthyl acetate is synthesized by direct esterification of α-naphthyl acetic acid and methanol under microwave radiation. The optimal conditions are as follows : power of microwave radiation 320W, amount of catalyst used 12%, molar ratio of alcohol to acid 9 ∶1, microwave radiation time 15 min.It is found out that, under the optimal conditions, the yield of the product reaches 89.1%.