Anhydrous Ce(SO4)2 in chloroform selectively converts oximes into the parent carbonyl compounds in good yields. Hammett correlations helped to indicate a plausible mechanism for the above reaction. The formation of 1-(dinitromethyl)benzene was assumed to be a product of isonitroso hydrogen reaction with arylaldoximes.
Several title compounds have been prepared by the modified Ponzio procedure and their IR, 1H and 13C NMR data are presented. In some cases trinitromethylated arenes were obtained as a by-product. Oxidative cleavage to parent aldehydes and oxidation to carboxylic acids were the major competing reactions. 9-Anthracenecarbaldehyde oxime and 10-methyl-9-anthracenecarbaldehyde oxime reacted with nitrogen