Abstract
An efficient and general method for the synthesis of alkyl squarates is presented. This involves the reactions of squaric acid with the desired alcohol in the presence of an orthoformate. This was applicable for the synthesis of dimethyl-, diethyl-, diisopropyl, di-n-butyl and di-t-butyl squarates in yields ranging from 77–97%. It is a convenient and safe method that can be accomplished on a multigram scale.