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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tripentaerythritol was converted efficiently into 2′,2′′:6′,6′′:10′,10′′-tri-O-cyclohexylidene-2,2,6,6,10,10-hexakis(hydroxymethyl)-4,8-dioxa-1,11-undecandiol (4) by the toluenesulfonic acid catalysed reaction with cyclohexanone in a mixture of N,N-dimethylformamide and benzene. Reaction of tripentaerythritol with benzaldehyde under similar conditions gave an easily separated mixture of the four possible stereoisomers. Structures of these stereoisomers were assigned based on 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts using trends previously observed for the dibenzylidene acetals of dipentaerythritol, whose structures had been established unambiguously by X-ray crystallography. It was found that reduction of the mixture of benzylidene acetals to 2,6,10-tris(benzyloxymethyl)-4,8-dioxa-1,11-undecanediol could be accomplished using triethylsilane with ethylaluminium dichloride as the Lewis acid after a number of commonly used conditions for this transformation failed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]