trans-2-Butenal diethyl acetal may be used in the preparation of 2S,3S-epoxybutan-1-ol, an intermediate in the synthesis of erythromycin antibiotic.
trans-2-Butenal diethyl acetal is an acetal. Acetals are usually derived from the aldehydes. They have two single-bonded oxygen atoms attached to the same carbon atom. They are stable under basic conditions and they can be hydrolyzed back to the carbonyl compound. Acetals serves as a carbonyl protecting group and also are present as functional groups in glycosidic bonds. trans-2-Butenal diethyl acetal has been synthesized from trans-2-butenal with ethanol in the presence of methanesulfonic acid or methylsulfonate as catalysts.
