Benzilic Acid Rearrangement (Benzil-Benzilic Acid Rearrangement)

J. Liebig, Ann. 25, 27 (1838); N. Zinin, ibid. 31, 329 (1939).

Base-induced rearrangement of benzil to benzylic acid via phenyl group migration. More commonly perceived to include the migrations of other groups in α-dicarbonyl compounds:

Reviews: S. Selman, J. F. Eastham, Quart. Rev. 14, 221 (1960); D. J. Cram, Fundamentals of Carbanion Chemistry (Academic Press, 1965) pp 238-243; G. B. Gill, Comp. Org. Syn. 3, 821-838 (1991).