A series of 3-[(
-hydroxy-substituted) benzylidene]pyrrolidine-2,4-dione derivatives were synthesizedas candidate herbicides by reacting different aroyl acetates with
N-substituted glycine esters. Thenew compounds were identified by
1H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. Their herbicidalactivities were evaluated. Some compounds exhibited excellent herbicidal activities at a dose of 187.5g/ha. A suitable electron-donating substituent at the 2- and/or 4-position of the phenyl ring was essentialfor high herbicidal activity, a result that has not been reported before. It was also found that the titlecompound's structure-activity relationships were different from those of other similar kinds of earliercompounds, a result that may depend on the enol structure difference.Keywords: Herbicide; aroyl acetate; HPPD; electron-donating group; structure-activity relationship(SAR)