Photo-organocatalytic synthesis of acetals from aldehydes

Abstract

A mild and green photo-organocatalytic protocol for the highly efficient acetalization of aldehydes has been developed. Utilizing thioxanthenone as the photocatalyst and inexpensive household lamps as the light source, a variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes have been converted into acyclic and cyclic acetals in high yields. The reaction mechanism was extensively studied.