Summary 5-Bromo-2, 4-dimethoxybenzoylacrylic acid and its methyl ester are not isomerized or polymerized in the sunlight; the ethyl ester is stable to light in benzene solution but it is rapidly polymerized when exposed as a solid. Hydrolysis of the esters with sodium carbonate solution is extremely slow and incomplete; the methyl ester gives the unsaturated acid and a trace of cr-hydroxy-5-bromo-2, 4-dimethoxybenzoylpropionic acid ...
