Full and partial differentiation of tris-1,1,1-(hydroxymethyl)ethane via direct and indirect methodology

Hydrogenolysis of Carboxylic Ortho Esters

It is demonstrated for the first time that carboxylic ortho esters may be reduced to acetals using hydrogen as the reducing agent. Hydrogenolysis was performed under mild conditions over commercially available hydrogenation catalysts (5% Pd/C and 5% Pt/C). The present method is especially useful for the selective transformation of carboxylic acids and lactones into acetals.

Synthesis of a pH-independent bifurcated amphiphile

An efficient synthetic method for preparing bifurcated amphiphiles has been developed such that the functionality for attachment is located at the interface between the lipophilic and hydrophilic side chains. Attachment of the amphiphile to the repeat units of polymeric substrates enables the rapid preparation of amphiphilic homopolymers.