Chemical Sciences: A Manual for CSIR-UGC National Eligibility Test for Lectureship and JRF/Named Reactions/Dieckmann Condensation

The Dieckmann condensation is the intramolecular chemical reaction of diesters with base to give β-ketoesters. It is named after the German chemist Walter Dieckmann (1869–1925). The equivalent intermolecular reaction is the Claisen condensation.


 * [[Image:DieckmannCondensationMechanism.png|center|635px|Dieckmann Condensation reaction mechanism for the example given.]]

Owing to the steric stability of five- and six-membered ring structures, these will preferentially be formed. 1,4- and 1,6 diesters will form five-membered cyclic &beta;-keto esters, while 1,5- and 1,7 diesters will form six-membered &beta;-keto esters.