Utilization of Formic Acid as C1 Building Block for the Ruthenium-Catalyzed Synthesis of Formaldehyde Surrogates

Dialkoxymethanes are becoming increasingly important as fuel additives, formaldehyde surrogates, and chemical intermediates, but the effective synthesis remains challenging. Herein, the catalytic synthesis of dialkoxymethane products using a molecular catalyst is reported. The catalytic system, comprising the [Ru(triphos)(tmm)] in combination with the Lewis acid Al(OTf)(3), enables the direct synthesis of dialkoxymethane products with formic acid as C1 building block in high to excellent turnover numbers.