Magnesium Triflimide‐Catalyzed Chemoselective Diacetylation of Aldehydes

ABSTRACT A chemoselective method for the synthesis of acylals from aldehydes and carboxylic anhydrides has been developed using magnesium triflimide as the catalyst. The reaction proceeds smoothly at room temperature under neat conditions or in dichloromethane. The reaction conditions are mild, and a variety of functional groups, such as alkyl, ether, ester, nitrile, nitro, and halogen groups, remain intact under the reaction conditions.