Abstract
In 1968 Gross and Costisella reported that certain substituted benzaldehydes could be converted to the corresponding arylacetic acids through the use of tetraethyl dimethylaminomethylenediphosphonate (1).1 Since that time, little synthetic attention has
been given to this potentially useful reagent and the scope of its utility in transforming aldehydes into carboxylic acids containing one more carbon2 remains undefined.