Tetrahedron letters

On the role of triflic acid in the metal triflate-catalysed acylation of alcohols

R Dumeunier, IE Markó

Index: Dumeunier, Raphael; Marko, Istvan E. Tetrahedron Letters, 2004 , vol. 45, # 4 p. 825 - 829

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Citation Number: 75

Abstract

The acylation of alcohols by anhydrides, catalysed by a wide range of metal triflates, is a powerful and mild method for the preparation of a variety of esters. Mechanistic insights demonstrate that triflic acid is generated under these reaction conditions and that, at least, two competing catalytic cycles are operating at the same time: a rapid one involving triflic acid and a slower one involving the metal triflate.