Polycarboxylic esters of cyclopropane are generally stable to bases with respect to ring c1eavage. l Hydrolysis is often accompanied by decarboxylation but the cyclopropane ring remains intact unless very vigorous reaction conditions are employed. Herewith is reported an example of a cyclopropane ring cleavage under very mild conditions. Diethyl 1, 1, 2, 2- tetracyanocyclopropane-3, 3-dicarboxylate (I) was synthesized using the technique of ...
