Rice husk supported FeCl3 nanoparticles as an efficient and reusable catalyst for the chemoselective 1,1-diacetate protection and deprotection of aldehydes

1,1-Diacetates were produced from a variety of aromatic aldehydes using rice husk supported FeCl3 nanoparticles as a catalyst. The procedure generally resulted in good yields (98%) of aromatic aldehydes including those carrying electron donating- or withdrawing-substituents. Deprotection of the resulting 1,1-diacetates was also achieved using the same catalyst in ethanol. This new method consistently has the advantages of excellent yields and relatively short reaction times. Further, the catalyst can be reused and recovered for several times.

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► Preparation and characterization of rice husk supported FeCl3 nanoparticles (FeCl3-RiH).
► Application of FeCl3-RiH in the promotion of the acylation of aldehydes.
► Deprotection of 1,1-diacetates catalyzed by FeCl3-RiH.
► Catalysis under solvent-free conditions.
► Heterogeneous catalysis and recyclability of the catalyst.