Esters crotonate, bromo, reaction

In the first reports on the use of esters of 4-bromo-2-butenoic acid (191a and b, crotonic acid) and of 4-bromo-3-methyl-2-butenoic acid (191c, senecioic acid), the corresponding Reformatsky reactions with benzaldehyde were performed with the old-fashioned procedure, which required heating the haloester, the aldehyde and granulated zinc in benzene/ether mixtures at reflux temperature. 

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