Reaction of carboxylic acids with diethyl phosphorocyanidate; A novel synthesis of homologated α-hydroxycarboxylic acids from carboxylic acids

Abstract Carboxylic acids react with 2 equivalents of diethyl phosphorocyanidate in the presence of triethylamine to give dicyanophosphates in good yields; these dicyanophosphates can be hydrolyzed easily to give homologated α-hydroxycarboxylic acids.