Substituted lactones and their transformations; IV. Hydrogenation of substituted lactones to alkyltetrahydrofurans

To make a comparative study of the connection between odor and structure in the alkyl--butyrolactone and alkyltetrahydrofuran series, -,-, and ,-dialkylbutyrolactones are hydrogenated over copper-chromium catalyst to give the corresponding tetrahydrofurans. Most of the compounds obtained retain a fruity odor, reminiscent of that of the starting lactones.For Part III see 1].