Highly efficient triphenyl(3-sulfopropyl)phosphonium functionalized phosphotungstic acid on silica as a solid acid catalyst for selective mono-allylation of acetalsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5cy00531k

Silica supported phosphotungstic acid functionalized with triphenyl(3-sulfopropyl)phosphonium (PW-Si/TPSP) was developed as a solid acid catalyst for C-C bond formation via Hosomi-Sakurai allylation of acetals. Functionalization of PW as well as its binding to silica was confirmed by solid state 31 P-NMR and 29 Si-NMR, respectively. Among the various catalysts prepared, the 30% PW loaded (30PW-Si/TPSP) catalyst gave an excellent yield of homoallyl ethers (HAEs) via selective mono-allylation of acetals with allyltrimethylsilane. A plausible reaction pathway has also been proposed in which the strong Brønsted acid sites of 30PW-Si/TPSP play an important role in activating the acetals to form the corresponding oxonium cations. The versatility of our catalyst was demonstrated for the allylation of a wide variety of acetals while its stability was established in five successful recycling runs. A silica-supported zwitterion-functionalized phosphotungstic acid catalyst developed for the selective Hosomi-Sakurai reaction giving 93-99% yield of homoallyl ethers.