Oxazolinium salts hydrolysis

Electrochemical reduction of oxazolinium salts 36 gives the anions 37, which add efficiently to alkyl halides or, in the presence of McsSiCl, to methyl acrylate, methyl vinyl ketone, and acrylonitrile. Simple acid hydrolysis then gives the ketone products 38 and 39, and this method is quite general since the starting salts are readily prepared from carboxylic acids, R C02H (87TL4411). 

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