Solid-supported odorless reagents for the dithioacetalization of aldehydes and ketones.

A solid supported, odorless reagent for the dithioacetalization of aldehydes and ketones has been developed. The new reagent provides the dimercaptoalkane equivalent in combination with stoichiometric amounts of immobilized acid and enables the formation of dithianes and dithiolanes from aldehydes without any additives in good to very good yields with high purities. The reaction is chemoselective for aldehydes, but ketones can be reacted to the corresponding dithioketals if an additional Lewis acid such as BF3 is added.