Synthesis and crystal structure of methyl (Z)-2-hydroxy-3-benzoylpropenoate

The title compound C11H10O4 has been synthesized and its crystal structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal is of monoclinic, space group P2(1)/c with a = 12.136(1), b = 5.559.(1), c = 14.615(2) Angstrom, beta = 96.758(3)degrees, V = 979.1(3) Angstrom(3), Z = 4, M-r = 206.19, D-c = 1.399 g/cm(3), F(000) = 432 and mu(MoKalpha) = 0.107 mm(-1). The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares techniques to the final R = 0.0453 and wR = 0.0990. X-ray analysis reveals that the compound is a stable enol with a big conjugated system, and an intramolecular hydrogen bond makes the enol more stable.