Abstract
The readily available cis/trans mixture of 1,2-cyclobutanedicarboxylic acid undergoes a quantitative isomerization in 12N HCl to the trans-diacid (as monitored by NMR spectroscopy). The latter is resolved to the (+)- and (-)-trans-diacids by modified literature and patented methods. The synthesis of the (S,S)-(-)-trans-diol and (S,S)-(+)-trans-ditosylate from the (S,S)-(+)-trans-diacid is also reported.