General procedure for the synthesis of (1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid as a raw material for the synthesis of (1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol: A mixture of (1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (248 g, 1.41 mol), sodium borohydride (159.8 g, 4.2 mol), and iodine (156 g, 0.7 mol) was added to tetrahydrofuran ( THF, 1000 mL), stirred, and reacted at reflux for 5 hours. After completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 °C and methanol (500 mL) was added slowly and dropwise. The organic layer was separated, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and dried to give the white solid product (1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol (178 g, 1.709 mol, 88.4% yield) with a melting point of 57-59 °C.
