Iron(III) chloride-catalyzed convenient one-pot synthesis of homoallyl benzyl ethers starting from aldehydes.

[reaction: see text] Iron(III) chloride-catalyzed effective allylation reactions of acetals with allyltrimethylsilane proceeded smoothly in high to excellent yields. In addition, this method could be applied to the one-pot synthesis of homoallyl benzyl ethers by a combination of dibenzyl acetalization of aldehydes and consecutive allylation of dibenzyl acetals.