Ibuprofen is practically insoluble in water, but very soluble in most organic solvents like ethanol (66.18g/100mL at 40°C for 90% EtOH), methanol, acetone and dichloromethane.
The original synthesis of ibuprofen by the Boots Group started with the compound isobutylbenzene. The synthesis took six steps. A modern, greener technique with fewer waste byproducts for the synthesis involves only three steps was developed in the 1980s by the Celanese Chemical Company. The synthesis is initiated with the acylation of isobutylbenzene using the recyclable Lewis acid catalyst hydrogen fluoride. The following catalytic hydrogenation of isobutylacetophenone is performed with either Raney nickel or palladium on carbon to lead into the key-step, the carbonylation of 1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanol. This is achieved by a PdCl(PPh) catalyst, at around 50 bar of CO pressure, in the presence of HCl (10%). The reaction presumably proceeds through the intermediacy of the styrene derivative (acidic elimination of the alcohol) and (1-chloroethyl)benzene derivative (Markovnikow addition of HCl to the double bond).