solution and dilute bleach were added simultaneously over 2 3 hours the reaction was slightly exothermic and completed in 7 to 16 hours at 30 35 u00b0 c after the reaction was completed the mixture was cooled to 5 10 u00b0 c and the reaction ph was adjusted to 7 0 8 0 with naoh the reaction was quenched by either inverse addition to cold 0 5 u00b0 c na 2 so 3 solution or normal addition of na 2 so 3 solution to reaction mixture and batch temperature was maintained at lt 20 u00b0 c the ph of the aqueous layer increased to 8 5 10 after stirring for 2 3 hours at room temperature the reaction mixture was extracted twice with mtbe to purge impurities the organic layer was separated and discarded the aqueous product rich layer was acidified with conc hcl u2212 100 ml with stirring to ph 2 5 3 5 the product was extracted with methf or ethyl acetate to give a solution of the crude carboxylic acid in 90 95 solution yield finally compound 2 was crystallized from methf or ethyl acetate 2 5 ml g and heptanes 7 10 ml g to produce a white crystalline product with 80 85 isolated yields and gt 99 8 ap by gc compound 2 1 00 equiv 58 91 mmoles 10 00 g was charged into a 500 ml 3 neck flask with overhead stirring and n 2 dichloromethane 92 69 equiv 5 46 moles 350 00 ml 463 75 g was added the mixture was cooled to 0 5 u00b0 c while being stirred 2 chloro 4 5 dihydro 1 3 dimethyl 1h imidazolium chloride 6 dmc 1 3 equiv molar 1 30 equiv 76 58 mmoles 12.