Hydroperoxycacalone: a new furanoeremophilane from Psacalium decompositum

Compounds bearing two hydroxyl groups are known as diols. When the hydroxyl groups are located on adjacent carbon atoms, the diols are called vicinal diols or glycols. Under acidic conditions, vicinal diols undergo a specific reaction called pinacol rearrangement.
The reaction begins with transferring a proton from the acid catalyst to one of the hydroxyl groups, producing an oxonium ion.

Carboxylic acid derivatives are formed by replacing the hydroxyl group of carboxylic acids with a different functional group. The most common carboxylic acid derivatives are:

Unlike aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids do not readily participate in α halogenation reactions via enols or enolate intermediates. However, α-halogenated acids are obtained through other methods. One of the approaches is the Hell–Volhard–Zelinsky (HVZ) reaction, wherein the carboxylic acid is treated with halogen in the presence of PBr3. It involves the conversion of acid to acid halide, which exists in equilibrium with its enol form. The enol attacks the electrophilic halogen to produce...