Isomering oxidation of ethylenic alcohols to give ethylenic carbonyl compounds

A process for the preparation of ethylenic carbonyl compounds of the formulae:

• ##EQU3## and the tautomers thereof, comprising heating in the liquid phase an ethylenic tertiary alcohol of the formulae:
• ##EQU4## in the presence of oxygen and a catalyst of a compound of the transition metal vanadium, and wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are inert under the conditions of the process and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are selected from the group consisting of aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, arylaliphatic and aromatic radicals, and wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 may represent a divalent radical of 2 to 30 carbon atoms which may be saturated or unsaturated, and wherein the aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, arylaliphatic or aromatic radicals may be substituted by halogen, hydroxy, alkoxy, acyl or acyloxy substituents and R.sup.3 may be the same as R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 or hydrogen.