Eco-Friendly Homo- and Cross-Etherification of Benzyl Alcohols Catalyzed by Iron(II/III) Chloride in Propylene Carbonate as a Green and Recyclable Solvent

A new catalytic approach toward the symmetrical and nonsymmetrical etherification of benzyl alcohols was developed. The symmetrical etherification reaction was carried out in the presence of FeCl36H(2)O (5 mol %) as the catalyst and propylene carbonate as a green and recyclable solvent and led to the corresponding symmetrical ethers in 53 to 91% yields. The nonsymmetrical etherification of benzylic alcohols was achieved by using FeCl24H(2)O (10 mol %) in the presence of a pyridine bis-thiazoline ligand (12 mol %) and allowed for high selectivity and in 52 to 89% yields. These methods take advantage of eco-friendly conditions.

Automated summary

This article introduces a new catalytic method for the symmetrical and nonsymmetrical etherification of benzyl alcohols. In the symmetrical etherification reaction, FeCl36H(2)O is used as the catalyst and propylene carbonate is used as a solvent. In the nonsymmetrical etherification reaction, FeCl24H(2)O and pyridine bis-thiazoline ligand are used as catalysts. These methods have eco-friendly conditions.