Benzyl ethers of carbohydrates

Abstract

It has been shown that carbohydrates of all types are readily benzylated, and various benzyl ethers obtained are described. The benzylation reaction should prove useful in the further study of carbohydrates, just as alkylation by means of methyl sulfate has proven so preeminently fruitful in this field. Moreover, some of the benzyl ethers of the carbohydrates may prove, it is hoped, technically useful products because of their properties as colloid and plastic substances, particularly since benzyl chloride is relatively inexpensive and the group increases considerably the molecular weights of the carbohydrates to which it adds. © 1921, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.