In this paper, we report the tandem Michael addition-elimination reactions
of chiral 5-alkoxy-3, 4-dihalo-2 (5H)-furanones with DMF by the catalyst of
metal sodium. The optically pure 5-(S)-alkoxy-4-N, N-dimethyl-3-halo-2 (5H
)-furanones 6a-6d were identified on the basis of their analytical data, su
ch as [alpha](D)(20), UV, IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, MS and elemental analysis.