Nanoporous
aluminosilicate materials, synthesized by an evaporation-induced
self-assembly process, catalyze the direct aldol reaction of acyclic
acetals with a range of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to produce the corresponding
aldol addition products in high yield, rather than the expected Knoevenagel
elimination products. By carrying out the reaction in the presence
of either dimethoxy propane or the corresponding orthoester, it is
possible to capitalize on the ability of these aluminosilicate materials
to catalyze the corresponding acetalization reaction leading to the
development of novel telescoped, acetalization-direct aldol addition
reaction protocols.