Condensation of ethyl (ethoxymethylene)cyanoacetate with hydrazides of diph
enylphosphinic acid and aliphatic and aromatic acids in ethanol involves ex
clusively the ethoxymethylene group and yields the corresponding ethyl 3-ox
o-2-cyanopropanoate hydrazones. These compounds exist in the crystalline st
ate and in solutions in the form of the enehydrazine tautomer in which the
configurational equilibrium is determined by the nature of substituent in t
he hydrazine moiety.