A General Synthesis of a-Substituted Acrylic Esters

Abstract During a study of synthetic approaches to various naturally-occurring sesquiterpenes lactones, we developed a new synthesis of the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone group.1 This new sequence suggested that it might be applicable to the general synthesis of α-methylenecarbonyl compounds.2 This report describes the application to a general synthesis of α-substituted acrylic esters.