The application belongs to the technical field of
fine chemical synthesis, and particularly relates to a preparation method of a key intermediate of Naomaining, i.e. p-methylphenylacetone. A reaction solution is prepared by mixing p-methylbenzoic acid and propionic acid according to a
mass ratio, the reaction solution is continuously introduced into a
fixed bed reactor under
nitrogen protection by means of a constant flow pump, and a
decarboxylation coupling reaction is carried out under the action of a Ce / gamma-Al2O3, Fe / gamma-Al2O3 or Ce-Fe / gamma-Al2O3 supported catalyst at 220-290 DEG C under normal pressure, and high-purity p-methylphenylacetone is obtained after post-treatment. The application adopts a
fixed bed continuous synthesis process, overcomes the disadvantages of a traditional kettle
type synthesis process, such as complicated operation, poor product selectivity and unstable product purity, and has the advantages of mild overall
reaction conditions, no need of high-pressure equipment, high
raw material conversion rate and high target product selectivity; the main reaction by-products are 3-
pentanone and
carbon dioxide, no strong-
pollution waste such as aluminum-containing
wastewater is discharged, and the application is green and
environmentally friendly; the purity of the obtained product can reach more than 98.5 %, and the product can be directly used for Naomaining
drug synthesis, and the process has high stability.