Abstract Ytterbium, scandium, and lanthanum triflates catalyze the cleavage reactions of cyclic ethers to give various products. Most notable was the acylative cleavage of tetrahydrofuran with acetic anhydride catalyzed by Yb (triflate) 3 to give the dimeric compound CH3CO2 (CH2) 4O (CH2) 4OCOCH3 in 69% yield.
[Lo, H. Christine; Han, Hongna; D'Souza, Lawrence J.; Sinha, Subhash C.; Keinan, Ehud Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2007 , vol. 129, # 5 p. 1246 - 1253]