2-Hydroxymethyl-1,4-dioxaspiro decane

The preparation of alkyl methyl ethers may be readily effected under PTC conditions from the alcohol, dimethyl sulphate and 50 per cent w/w aqueous sodium hydroxide, employing tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulphate as catalyst.95 The usefulness of this procedure has been extended, and optimum conditions have been described for the alkylation of a range of aliphatic alcohols using, for example, 1-chlorobutane or benzyl chloride.96 The PTC preparative examples described in Expt 5.73 are for the methylation, allylation, but-2-enylation and benzylation of, for example, 2-hydroxymethyl-l,4-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane (Expt 5.63), and have been developed in the editors laboratories. These methods have also been applied to the alkylation of protected monosaccharide derivatives (p. 652). 

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