Since the pyrolysis of esters has been shown to be an excellent method for the synthesis of strained or reactive olefins, including isomers of aromatic compounds, 3-5 a program to find possible uses of this pyrolytic method for the synthesis of acids and their derivatives was initiated. It was shown that pyrolysis has many advantages over hydrolysis in the conversion of an ethyl ester to the corresponding acid, particularly if the acid was water soluble or ...
