N-Methoxy-N-methyl-2-(2-oxo-1-pyrrolidinyl)acetamide

N-Methoxy-N-methyl-2-(2-oxo-1-pyrrolidinyl)acetamide

2-Chloro-N-methoxy-N-methylacetamide (ex Aldrich Chemical Co.) (3.2 g, 23.3 mmol) was added to a suspension of 2-pyrrolidinone (2.0 g, 23.5 mmol) and sodium hydride (940 mg, 60% dispersion in mineral oil, 23.5 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (60 ml), and the reaction stirred at room temperature for 48 hours. The mixture was quenched with water (150 ml), and extracted with ethyl acetate (200 ml) and dichloromethane (200 ml). The combined organic extracts were dried (MgSO₄) and evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was triturated with hexane, then ether to afford the title compound as white crystals, 1.8 g, 41%; 

¹H NMR (CDCl₃, 400 MHz) δ: 2.02 (m, 2H), 2.40 (t, 2H), 3.17 (s, 3H), 3.48 (t, 2H), 3.72 (s, 3H), 4.19 (s, 2H); LRMS: m/z 186.9 (MH⁺).