Kinetics of opening of the ring of 5-aryl-2,3-dihydrofuran-2,3-diones under the influence of methanol

The kinetics of the opening of the ring of 5-aryl-2,3-dihydrofuran-2,3-diones under the influence of methanol, which leads to the formation of methyl esters of aroylpyruvic acids, were studied by PMR spectroscopy. A mechanism is proposed for the reaction.Communication 26 from the series Chemistry of oxalyl derivatives of methyl ketones. See [1] for Communication 25.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 744–746, June, 1982.