Substituent effects on the competing thermal cracking and isomerization of dimethyl cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylates
Abstract
The ratio of the rate constants for the thermal cracking and isomerization (kc/ki) of dimethyl cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylates and dimethyl 1,2-dimethylcyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylates is 3–4 and > 200, respectively, indicating that, depending on substitution, even minimal stereochemical losses need not attend pyrolytic cycloreversions of cyclobutanes.