Proposed Resolution of a Mechanistic Puzzle of Long Duration: Self-Condensation of Cyclopentanone to Form an 11-Carbon Dienoic Acid

The mechanism proposed for the transformation of cyclopentanone to the dienoic acid 1, as published in this journal, is revealed to be in error. We show that carbon 11 derives not from dimethyl sulfoxide as proposed but from the dichloromethane present in the “quenching” solution. The intermediacy of an α-chloromethyl ketone and its subsequent fragmentation in the presence of a hydroxide ion is supported by experiments described herein and by extensive literature precedent.