A NEW TRANSFORMATION OF AN ESTER INTO ITS HOMOLOG AND AN α-HYDROXYALDEHYDE USING METHYL METHYLTHIOMETHYL SULFOXIDE

Abstract
The carbanion (2) generated from methyl methylthiomethyl sulfoxide (1) reacts with an ester to afford an acylated product (3). This compound can be transformed into derivatives of the corresponding α-hydroxyaldehyde and also into the ester which has one more methylene group than the original ester (Scheme 2).