Catalytic synthesis of n-butyraldehyde glycol acetal with tin tetrachioride supported on silica gel

n-Butyraldehyde glycol acetal was synthesized from n-butyraldehyde and glycol in the presence of tin tetrachloride supported on silica gel catalyst. Various factors effected on the product yield were discussed, the results demonstrated that tin tetrachloride supported on silica gel is an excellent catalyst,when the mole ratio of n-butyraldehyde to glycol was 1:1.5, catalyst dosage was 1.0% (mass ratio of catalyst to total reactants ), and the reaction time was 1.5 h, with cyclohexane as water carrier, under this conditions, the yield of the product achives 87.3%.