Cyclopentyl methyl ether-NH4X: a novel solvent/catalyst system for low impact acetalization reactions

Cyclopentyl methyl ether, a low impact ether forming a positive azeotrope with water, was successfully employed as a solvent in the synthesis of 1,3-dioxanes and 1,3-dioxolanes carried out under Dean-Stark conditions by the acetalization of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes or ketones, employing ammonium salts as environmentally friendly acidic catalysts.