Transesterification of methyl and ethyl

Oxotitanium acetylacetonate, TiO(acac)2, was found to be a very efficient catalyst for the transesterification of methyl (and ethyl) esters. The mechanism probably involves initial formation from reactant, ROH, of TiO(OR)2(acac)2, which upon complexation with the methyl ester, R CC Me, progresses from (13) to a tetrahedral intermediate containing a TiO bond (14), which rearranges to yield the product, R C02R, and TiO(OR)OMe)(acac)2 (Scheme 4).7... 

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