Tishchenko reactions of aldehydes promoted by diisobutylaluminum hydride and its application to the macrocyclic lactone formation

Aliphatic aldehydes react with catalytic amount of Dibal-H in n-pentane to give the corresponding Tishchenko products in good to excellent yields. On contrary, α-silyloxy aldehydes give α-silyloxy ketones via Oppenauer oxidation under similar condition. Tishchenko reaction of ω-alkene aldehydes followed by RCM and hydrogenation affords a convenient method to prepare the 11–37 membered macrocyclic lactones.