Efficient thioacetalisation of carbonyl compounds

The thioacetalisation of a variety of heterocyclic, aromatic, and aliphatic carbonyl compounds (1 mmol) with ethane-1,2-dithiol (1 mmol) using silica sulphuric acid (SSA) is presented as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst under mild and solvent-free conditions at 60°C. The thioacetals were formed within a short reaction time (1–34 min) and isolated with 90–98 % yield following an extractive procedure and chromatography on silica gel. The competitive protection reaction between aldehyde and ketone with ethane-1,2-dithiol afforded the protected derivatives of benzaldehyde and acetophenone with 92 % and 8 % yields, respectively, indicating some selectivity.