Mark J. Koen, Jacqueline Morgan, John T. Pinhey and Christopher J. Sherry
4-Ethoxycarbonyl-2-phenyl-4,5-dihydrooxazol-5-one undergoes rapid arylation and vinylation with arylead triacetates and (E)-styryllead triacetates, respectively. The resulting moisture-sensitive 4-aryl- and 4-styryl-oxazolones undergo hydrolysis and decarboxylation under mild conditions to provide a short efficient route to derivatives of α-arylglycines and α-vinylglycines.