Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Bismuth triflate (0.1 mol %) is a highly efficient catalyst for the cyclization of citronellal 1, a reaction that yields a ratio of 80:20 of isopulegol 2 and neoisopulegol 3. This methodology has also been extended to the synthesis of substituted piperidines. The bismuth triflate catalyzed ene reaction of aldehyde 4 gives a 70:30 mixture of piperidines 5 and 6. The advantages of these methods include the use of a highly efficient catalyst that is relatively nontoxic, cheap and easy to handle.

Epoxyolefin cyclizations have attracted considerable interest due to their importance in biosynthetic pathways. Bismuth trifluoromethanesulfonate as well as several other metal triflates are shown to be highly effective (0.1 mol %) catalysts for the cyclization of geraniolene oxide. The product composition is found to be more dependent on solvent and substrate concentration than on the nature of the metal triflate. Cyclization products are favored in CH2Cl2 and under high dilution conditions. Ether solvents favored acyclic products.

Chemoselective reductions are valuable in organic synthesis and are routinely discussed in a sophomore organic chemistry course. Yet, there are few examples of laboratory experiments that illustrate such chemoselectivity. A reaction that is routinely discussed in sophomore organic chemistry is the selective reduction of aldehydes and ketones using sodium borohydride. Esters are typically not affected by NaBH4. However, none of the lab experiments reported to date illustrate this chemoselectivity (1). We have developed a discovery-oriented lab experiment that illustrates the chemoselective nature of reductions using sodium borohydride. The experiments involve the reduction of vanillin acetate (Scheme I) and methyl …