Question

The driving force for the completion of Claisen condensation between ethyl acetate and sodium ethoxide to ethyl acetoacetate is

• A. The presence of reactive methylene grop in ethyl acetoacetate
• B. The phenomenon of keto enol tautomerism
• C. The presence of at least $\alpha$ - hydrogen atom in ester
• D. All the three factors

Answer 1

The correct option is A

The presence of reactive methylene grop in ethyl acetoacetate

The first two steps of Claisen condensation are reversible with the tendency toward reactant and not to P

However, due to reactive methylene group the reaction does not stop all this step but converted into carbanion, which being resonance stabilized favours the reaction more toward right than to left