It is found that tartronic acid is neither a product nor an intermediate of the Ce4+-malonic acid reaction, contrary to the assumptions of the current theories on the mechanism of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. Instead, the first reaction product is ETA (1, 1, 2, 2- ethanetetracarboxylic acid), which is formed by a direct recombination of two malonyl radicals.
