Palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative ortho-amidation of O-methyl ketoximes with oxamic acids

The Knoevenagel condensation is an aldol-type reaction involving the condensation of aldehydes or ketones with active methylene compounds such as β-diesters to produce substituted olefins.

Carboxylic acids react with diazomethane in an ether solvent via alkylation at the carboxylate oxygen atom to give methyl esters of the corresponding acid with excellent yields.

Malonic ester synthesis is a method to obtain α substituted carboxylic acids from ꞵ-diesters such as diethyl malonate and alkyl halides.

Diols are compounds with two hydroxyl groups. In addition to syn dihydroxylation, diols can also be synthesized through the process of anti dihydroxylation. The process involves treating an alkene with a peroxycarboxylic acid to form an epoxide. Epoxides are highly strained three-membered rings with oxygen and two carbons occupying the corners of an equilateral triangle. This step is followed by ring-opening of the epoxide in the presence of an aqueous acid to give a trans diol.

Alkenes are converted to 1,2-diols or glycols through a process called dihydroxylation. It involves the addition of two hydroxyl groups across the double bond with two different stereochemical approaches, namely anti and syn. Dihydroxylation using osmium tetroxide progresses with syn stereochemistry.

Epoxides that are three-membered ring systems are more reactive than other cyclic and acyclic ethers. The high reactivity of epoxides originates from the strain present in the ring. This ring strain acts as a driving force for epoxides to undergo ring-opening reactions either with halogen acids or weak nucleophiles in the presence of mild acid. The acid catalyst converts the epoxide oxygen, a poor leaving group, into an oxonium ion, a better leaving group, making the reaction feasible. The...