Iodine as a mild and versatile reagent for the synthesis of 1,3-dioxane derivatives via the Prins reaction

Iodine is found to be an effective reagent for the cross-coupling of olefins with aldehydes under mild conditions to produce 4-substituted 1,3-dioxane derivatives in excellent yields and in short reaction times with high selectivity. The use of iodine makes this procedure simple, convenient, cost-effective and practical. This method works not only with formaldehyde but also with acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde and cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde.