A preparative method for the synthesis of ethyl 3-oxo-2-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)butanoate with a total yield of 76% has been developed. The proposed method makes it possible to obtain the target compound under mild conditions from commercially available compounds: picric acid and acetoacetic ester. The structure of the compound was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and H NMR spectroscopy. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed the ability of the compound particles to form an intramolecular complex with charge transfer.
D.A. Kazantsev (Wed,) studied this question.