3,5'-Di-tert-butylsalicylaldehyde is an organic compound. It is a pale yellow solid. This aldehyde is a building block for preparing salen ligands.

Preparation

This compound is commercially available. It may be prepared by the Duff reaction

Duff reaction

The Duff reaction or hexamine aromatic formylation is a formylation reaction used in organic chemistry for the synthesis of benzaldehydes with hexamine as the formyl carbon source...

, from 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol and hexamethylenetetramine:

Reactions

Condensation of this aldehyde with various diamines gives various salen ligands, which are popular for catalysis

Catalysis

Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....

. For example, the enantiopure ligand for Jacobsen's catalyst

Jacobsen's catalyst

Jacobsen's catalyst is the common name for N,N'-bis-1,2-cyclohexanediaminomanganese chloride, a coordination compound of manganese and a salen-type ligand. It is used as a asymmetric catalyst in the Jacobsen epoxidation, which is renowned for its ability to enantioselectively transform prochiral...

 may be prepared from the appropriate 1,2-diaminocyclohexane

Trans-1,2-Diaminocyclohexane

trans-1,2-Diaminocyclohexane is an organic compound with the formula C6H102. This diamine is a building block for chiral ligands that are useful in asymmetric catalysis....

. The catalyst is obtained by further reaction with manganese(II) acetate

Manganese(II) acetate

Manganese acetate is the chemical compound with the formula Mn2. It is used as a desiccant, a catalyst, and as fertilizer.-Reactions:...

and atmospheric oxygen in the presence of a chloride source.