Abstract
The carbonyl-ene reaction of olefin with formaldehyde is an important reaction in organic synthesis. In this study, the carbonyl-ene reaction of olefin with formalin was carried out in water, using H-beta zeolite as a solid acid catalyst. H-beta zeolite was found to be an effective catalyst for the carbonyl-ene reaction of styrene with formalin at a reaction temperature of 90 °C to produce 4-phenyl-1,3-dioxane derivatives in excellent yield, and for the carbonyl-ene reaction of α-methylstyrene with formalin at a reaction temperature of 20 °C to produce homoallylic alcohol with good selectivity. The H-beta zeolite catalyst could be easily recovered and reused.
