Ethyl 4-acetyl-5-oxo-3-phenylhexanoate

The reaction of ethyl 3-bromo-3-phenylpropanoate with pentane-2,4-dione, in the presence of palladium(II) acetate and triphenylphosphine, in dimethylformamide, unexpectedly gave the title product, C16H20O4. The molecule contains one chiral C atom but the crystal is racemic. In the crystal, neighboring molecules form a chain along [100] through three weak C—H...O interactions. Furthermore, a double-stranded structure is formed through weak C—H...O interactions between two parallel chains.