Results Dehydrogenation of 2, 2-dimethyl-l, 4-butanediol (la) catalyzed by ruthenium complex in the presence of 4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one as a hydrogen acceptor afforded a mixture of regioisomeric y-lactones, dihydro-4, 4-dimethyl-2 (3H)-furanone (2a) and dihydro- 3, 3-dimethyl-2 (3H)-furanone (3a), as shown in eq
