Fast aldol-Tishchenko reaction utilizing 1,3-diol monoalcoholates as the catalysts

The aldol-Tishchenko reaction of enolizable aldehydes is a simple and effective way to prepare 1,3-diol monoesters, which are widely used as coalescing agents in the paint industry. The use of monoalcoholates of 1,3-diols as catalysts gives fast and clean reactions compared with the previous use of several inorganic catalysts. The use of the proper 1,3-diol moiety in the catalyst also reduces the amount of side products which are due to ester interchange between product esters and the catalyst. The rapid water-free method developed herein allows fast preparation of monoesters with excellent yield and minimized formation of side products.