The biomimetic catalytic synthesis of acetal compounds using β-cyclodextrin as catalyst

Based on the principle of biomimetic catalysis, β-cyclodextrin was applied to the acetalation reaction as a facile and efficient catalyst, and the synthesis was environmentally friendly with atomic economy. The influencing factors of the acetalation reaction e.g. the reaction time, the volume of water-carrying agent, the molar ratio of catalyst to benzaldehyde and the molar ratio of glycol to benzaldehyde had been studied. The yield of benzaldehyde glycol acetal would reach a maximum of 81.3% under the conditions approached. Six of other acetals were also synthesized. Moreover, a plausible reaction mechanism for the formation of acetal had been proposed.

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