This review describes studies into the conversion of substituted 1,1,2-trihalocyclopropanes into acetylenic acetals and acetylenic ketals by application of alcohols or alkoxides under basic conditions. The acetal/ketal ratio turned out to depend both on the substituents attached to the ring and on the reaction conditions prevailing during the reaction. Under the right conditions, however, completely regioselective ringopening occurs to give either acetylenic acetals or acetylenic [a] . His main research interest is synthetic chemistry, with particular emphasis on the application of cyclopropanes as starting materials and photochemical transformations as a means to incorporate particular structural features into molecules with regiochemical and stereochemical control. He is also involved in studies of oxidation reactions; these are applied to investigation of the degradation of anthropogenic organic compounds in the laboratory as well as under natural conditions in the marine environment.MICROREVIEWS: This feature introduces the readers to the authors' research through a concise overview of the selected topic. Reference to important work from others in the field is included.
3511ketals, with formation of either no or only minor amounts of other products. The reactions are thought to involve cyclopropene intermediates, which are consumed by nucleophilic attack of alcohol or alkoxide. In some cases, the cyclopropene intermediates rearrange to the corresponding vinyl carbenes, which undergo insertion reactions with protic species present in the reaction mixture and give various 2-propenal derivatives as by-products.