One-Pot Hydroacetylation of Menadione (Vitamin K3) to Menadiol Diacetate (Vitamin K4) by Heterogeneous Catalysis

Vitamin K4 (menadiol diacetate, MDD) can be easily synthesized through cleaner and more efficient catalytic alternatives following the green chemistry principles. Ionic gold‐based hydroxylated fluorides are active bi‐functional catalysts for the one‐pot hydroacetylation of menadione leading to MDD with 77% selectivity. Unprecedent results were obtained in the presence of oxide‐fluoride catalysts by using a microwave‐assisted hydrogen‐transfer (Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley reaction) coupled with an acetylation approach, yielding very high selectivities for the target product (95%).