obtained in anhydrous dimethylformamide at 150 'C (Scheme 2,d).
e) R e a c t i o n with AminesPoly-y-hydroxycrotonolactone reacts with amines in aqueous media at 20 to 50°C to give the ammonium salt of the polymeric y-hydroxy acid (see Scheme 2,el). In organic solvents, e.g. in an excess of the amine, higher reaction temperatures are required, and the polymeric y-hydroxy carboxamide is then formed (Scheme 2,ez). f) R e d u c t i o n with L i t h i u m T e t r a h y d r i d o a l u m i n a t e Polymeric crotonolactone can be smoothly reduced with LiAIH4 in tetrahydrofuran to give a water-soluble polymer of 2-butene-l,4-diol (Scheme 2,f).
We are grateful to Professor Korte for his interest in this work.
The stereochemistry of the various chemical groupings which constitute the structural units of ring systems isfirst reviewed. It is then shown that the strain-free possibilities even of large rings are restricted, and that the ring conformations theoretically derived generally correspond to those found by physical methods. Variations of physical properties and of cyclization yield in homologous series are explained on a conformational basis.[5] J. B. Hendrickson, J. Amer. chem. SOC. 83, 4537 (1961). [6] Earlier summaries: J. D. Dunirz and V. Prelog, Angew. Chem. 72, 896 (1960).