Ester pyrolysis in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

is a vacuum pyrolysis reaction converting

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

s containing a β-hydrogen atom into the corresponding

carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an Substituent, R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as or , sometimes as with R referring to an organyl ...

and the

alkene In organic chemistry, an alkene, or olefin, is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond. The double bond may be internal or at the terminal position. Terminal alkenes are also known as Alpha-olefin, α-olefins. The Internationa ...

. The reaction is an E_i elimination and operates in a syn fashion. Examples include the synthesis of

acrylic acid Acrylic acid (IUPAC: prop-2-enoic acid) is an organic compound with the formula CH2=CHCOOH. It is the simplest unsaturated carboxylic acid, consisting of a vinyl group connected directly to a carboxylic acid terminus. This colorless liquid has ...

from ethyl acrylate at 590 °C, the synthesis of 1,4-pentadiene from 1,5-pentanediol diacetate at 575 °C or the construction of a

cyclobutene Cyclobutene is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is a cycloalkene. It is a colorless gas that easily condenses. It is of interest in research but currently has no practical applications. A modern synthesis involves the 2-step deh ...

framework at 700 °C

Organic Syntheses ''Organic Syntheses'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1921. It publishes detailed and checked procedures for the synthesis of organic compounds. A unique feature of the review process is that all of the data and expe ...

, Coll. Vol. 5, p.235 (1973); Vol. 43, p.17 (1963)
Link
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References

{{reflist Organic reactions