New transformations of vinyl acetate under the influence of the complex Rh(PPh3)3Cl

The strictly regioselective hydrocarboxylation of vinyl acetate to ethylidene diacetate by acetic acid formed in situ from vinyl acetate was realized for the first time with Rh(PPh₃)₃Cl as catalyst. The transformation of vinyl acetate into benzene, acetophenone, and acetylene was also realized.Institute of Organic Chemistry, Urals Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 420083 Ufa. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1406–1408, June, 1992.