 acetoacetic acid (also called diacetic acid) is the organic compound with the formula ch3coch2cooh. it is the simplest beta-keto acid group and like other members of this class is unstable. the methyl and ethyl esters, which are quite stable, are produced on a large scale industrially as precursors to dyes. == synthesis and properties == in general, the esters are prepared from diketene by treatment with alcohols.franz dietrich klingler, wolfgang ebertz "oxocarboxylic acids" in ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry 2005, wiley-vch, weinheim.  acetoacetic acid can be prepared by the hydrolysis of the ethyl acetoacetate followed by acidification of the anion. in general, acetoacetic acid is generated at 0&nbsp;Â°c and used in situ immediately.george a. reynolds and j. a. vanallan "methylglyoxal-Ï-phenylhydrazone" organic syntheses, collected volume 4, p.633 (1963).http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/pdfs/cv4p0633.pdf it decomposes at a moderate rate to acetone and carbon dioxide: :ch3c(o)ch2co2h â ch3c(o)ch3 + co2 the acid form has a half-life of 140 minutes at 37&nbsp;Â°c in water, whereas the basic form (the anion) has a half-life of 130 hours. that is, it reacts about 55 times more slowly.{{cite journal |doi= 10.1071/ch9671823 |author= hay, r. w.; bond, m. a.|year= 1967|titl
Ketones