Ester pyrolysis

Ester pyrolysis in organic chemistry is a vacuum pyrolysis reaction converting esters containing a β-hydrogen atom into the corresponding carboxylic acid and the alkene. The reaction is an Ei elimination and operates in a syn fashion.

Examples include the synthesis of acrylic acid from ethyl acrylate at 590 °C,[1] the synthesis of 1,4-pentadiene from 1,5-pentanediol diacetate at 575 °C [2] or the construction of a cyclobutene framework at 700 °C [3]

An example of ester pyrolosis. Ethyl acrylate decomposes into acrylic acid and ethene (ethylene) gas at 590°C.
  1. ^ Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. 3, p.30 (1955); Vol. 29, p.2 (1949). Link
  2. ^ Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. 4, p.746 (1963); Vol. 38, p.78 (1958). Link
  3. ^ Organic Syntheses, Coll. Vol. 5, p.235 (1973); Vol. 43, p.17 (1963). Link