Tungsten Hexachloride (WCl6), A Highly Efficient and Chemoselective Catalyst for Acetalization of Carbonyl Compounds

Abstract
Various types of aldehydes and ketones could be converted chemoselectively to their corresponding 1,3-dioxanes or diethyl acetals in the presence of catalytic amounts of tungsten hexachloride (WCI6) in good to excellent yields in CH2Cl2 or under neat conditions, respectively.