ALPHA,ALPHA-DIFLUORO-BETA-LACTONE AND ITS NON-FLUORINATED ANALOG

The structures of 4,4-dibenzyloxetan-2-one, C17H16O2. (1), and 4,4-dib enzyl-3,3-difluorooxetan-2-one, C17H14F2O2, (2), were determined in or der to relate their structures to differences in their reactivities to wards nucleophiles and thermal decarboxylation. The lactone rings in t he two compounds are different, with the former exhibiting a planar ri ng, while the latter has a bent ring and an average endocyclic torsion angle of 6.8 (2)Alpha degrees. Bond distances of the CO2 fragment are shorter in compound (2) than in their counterparts in (1).