Kolbe-Schmitt Reaction


Kolbe-Schmitt Reaction

 

(Kolbe-Schmitt synthesis), a method of synthesizing aromatic o-hydroxycarboxylic acids by the action of CO2 on the alkaline salt of the corresponding phenol:

The Kolbe-Schmitt reaction serves as the basis for industrial methods of producing salicylic acid from phenol, p-aminosalicylic acid (PASA) from m-aminophenol, and β-hydroxynaphthoic acid from β-hydroxynaphthol. The reaction was developed by the German chemist A. W. H. Kolbe in 1860 and improved by the German chemist R. Schmitt in 1865.

REFERENCES

Surrey, A. Spravochnik po organicheskim reaktsiiam. Moscow, 1962. (Translated from English.)
Lindsey, A., and H. Jeskey. “The Kolbe-Schmitt Reaction.” Chemical Reviews, 1957, vol. 57, no. 4, p. 583.