A cyclic dimer of ethyleneglycol maleate

The title compound, 1,4,9,12-tetraoxacyclohexadeca-6,14-diene-5,8,13,16-tetraone, a cyclic dimer, was prepared using dilute-solution ring-chain trans-esterification reactions. The molecule has crystallographic twofold rotation symmetry and contains four ester groups linked by two planar ethylene and two staggered ethane units.

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