An Improved Synthesis of Retinoic Acid from β-Ionone

A convenient and large-scale preparation of rctinoic acid 1 from β-ionone in five steps with 38% overall yield is described. The key steps are the epoxidization of 2 with a new methylated agent and the condensation 4 with tetraethyl methylenediphophonate in one-pot procedure to prepare 6.