Abstract

Lewis acid mediated rearrangement of alkoxybenzyl allyl ethers into aldehydes in moderate to good yields, catalysed either by Yb(OTf)3 or ZrCl4 is reported. The ZrCl4 catalysed transformation offers mild and easily adaptable clean reaction conditions and good yields of the products. Additionally, ZrCl4 catalysed rearrangement under solvent free conditions is an advantageous modification.

Keywords: yb(otf)3, zrcl4, solvent free conditions, lewis acid catalysed rearrangement, aldehydes, naphthalene derivatives