Improved Routes for the Preparation of Pentaerythritol Mono‐O‐benzyl Ether

Abstract

Two new efficient routes for the synthesis of pentaerythritol monobenzyl ether are described. In one route, the known mono-O-benzylidenepentaerythritol (5) is selectively benzylated via its dibutylstannylene acetal and then the benzylidene acetal is hydrolized. In the other route, compound 5 is reduced directly to the monobenzyl ether using EtAlCl 2 -Et 3 SiH.