Ruthenium(III) Chloride-Catalyzed Thioacetalization of Carbonyl Compounds: Scope, Selectivity, and Limitations

A variety of carbonyl compounds can be easily and rapidly converted to the corresponding cyclic and acylic dithioacetals in the presence of a catalytic amount of ruthenium chloride in acetonitrile at room temperature. Some of the major advantages of this protocol are high chemoselectivity, operational simplicity, very short reaction times, high yields, and also compatibility with other protecting groups.