We found that the heterogeneous system of potassium hydroxide and tetrahydrofuran restricts the formation of isoxylitone considerably. With equal molar quantities of mesityl oxide and methyl vinyl ketone, IV could be prepared in 25% yield. With an excess of mesityl
[Ito, Nobuhiko; Etoh, Takeaki; Hagiwara, Hisahiro; Kato, Michiharu Journal of the Chemical Society - Perkin Transactions 1, 1997 , # 10 p. 1571 - 1579]
