1,3-Dioxetane (1,3-dioxacyclobutane) is a

heterocyclic A heterocyclic compound or ring structure is a cyclic compound that has atoms of at least two different elements as members of its ring(s). Heterocyclic organic chemistry is the branch of organic chemistry dealing with the synthesis, proper ...

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with formula C₂O₂H₄, whose backbone is a four-member ring of alternating oxygen and carbon atoms. It can be viewed as a dimer of

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...

(COH₂). Derivatives of 1,3-dioxetane are rarely encountered as intermediates in the literature. Usually, they are prepared via +2cycloadditions of two carbonyl compounds. Molecular orbital theory calculations suggest that they should be more stable than the 1,2-isomers, which are more intensively studied.

References

Dioxetanes {{heterocyclic-stub

See also

References