In 1985, Rathke and co-workers1 reported a convenient single-step acylation procedure of diethyl malonate or ethyl-acetoacetate with acid chlorides, in which one equivalent of magnesium chloride was employed to complex the carbonyl functionality of these carbon acids in order to enhance their acidity to the point that triethylamine or pyridine could be used as a mild and non-destructive base. Unlike others, this procedure gives a high yield of nicsrbonyl-product with ...
