2‐O‐Benzylglyceraldehyde: A Synthetic Building Block Available in Both Enantiomeric Forms and Configurationally Stable Owing to Rapid Oligomerization

The title compound 1 is a very useful chiral glyceraldehyde derivative offering a broad range of possible applications. Both enantiomers were obtained by a new, simple synthesis from the corresponding tartrates. Monomeric 1 undergoes rapid transformation to a mixture of oligomers, which are configurationally stable at room temperature. The products 2 and 3, which are formed with high enantiomeric purity, are also promising as novel differentiated derivatives of known synthetic building blocks.